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I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, t 

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NITED STATES OF AMERICA.*' 



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Half-Hour Studies of Life. 



BY 



EDWIN A. JOHNSON, D. D. 





CI NCI NNATI: 

HITCHCOCK AND W A L D E N. 

NEW YORK: NELSON & PHILLIPS. 

1877. 



The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



£ 



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60 



63 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 

HITCHCOCK & WALDEN, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



PREFACE. 



If the brief chapters of this little volume 
may be called ''Studies of Life," it is in the 
sense, not of abstruse speculations, but of sim- 
ple surveys of real facts, proceeding in the 
natural order from the less to the greater, and 
intent only on a better understanding of the 
true art of living. If they seem, here and there, 
to be without close or formal connection, let it 
be remembered that, with most people, the 
great study of life is necessarily resolved into 
many separate parts, as one question after 
another comes up for consideration in occasional 
half-hours of leisure. 

Selecting a few of these questions, which are 
of special personal and practical interest, the 
author endeavors to open the way for clear and 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

comprehensive views of the truth, and hopes 
thus to help his readers to the best ordering 
and happiest issue of earthly life and labor. 

E. A. J. 
Allegheny City, Pa., January, 1877. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER. 

I. The Great School, . 
II. First Questions, 

III. Out of Order, . 

IV. An Important Discovery, 
V. The Indispensable Requisite, 

VI. Safety' in Temptation, . 
VII. The Master Passion, 
VIII. Under Difficulties, 
IX. The One Great Work, 
X. Over and Over Again, 
XI. In Real Life, 
XII. The Christ Life, . 

XIII. Tests of the Life, 

XIV. Arrested Growth, 
XV. Food and Growth, 

XVI. Work and Growth, 
XVII. Warmth and Growth, 
XVIII. Culture and Growth . 
XIX. Growth and Fruit, . 
XX. Sundry Facts of Growth, 



PAGE. 
9 

16 

23 

29 

36 

42 

49 

56 

62 

69 

77 

83 

90 

96 

102 

109 

116 

123 

130 

136 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER. PAGE. 

XXI. The Question of Greatness, . . 142 
XXII. "One is Your Master," . . , .148 

XXIII A Remarkable Experience, . . . 153 

XXIV. Legitimate Strife, 160 

XXV. The Best Place, 167 

XXVI. "Pray for Us." 173 

XXVII. Who Cares for Me? . . . . 179 

XXVIII. "The Young Child," .... 185 

XXIX. Home Power, 192 

XXX. Home Work, 199 

XXXI. Hints for Home Work, . . . 204 
XXXII. True Value of Amusements, . . .210 

XXXIII. The Best Investment, .... 216 

XXXIV. Action and Counteraction, . . . 223 
XXXV. Bridge the Chasms! .... 228 

XXXVI. Perfect Community, .... 233 

XXXVII. "Members in Particular," . . . 239 

XXXVIII. Variety in Unity of Work, . . . 245 

XXXIX. Co-operation for Christ, . . . 251 

XL. Disappearance of the Individual, . . 258 

XLI. The Question of Power, . . 265 

XLII. The Point to be Gained. . . . 272 

XLIII. Carrying the Point .... 279 

XLIV. The Question of Method, , . . 28$ 

XLV. Defective Methods, ... . . 291 

XLVI. Necessity of Special Training, . . 297 

XLVII. Our Secular Relations, . . . 304 



CONTENTS. 7 

CHAPTER. PAGE 

XLVIII. The Evil in Business, 310 

XLIX. Conversion of Money, . . . . 316 

L. "For Value Received," .... 322 

LI. Under the Saivie Law, .... 328 

LII. The Test of the Tilt, • ^^ 

L1II. Future Retrospection, .... 339 



HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



The Great School. 

IT is not the public or common school, which 
offers its advantages alike to all the children 
of the land, and is justly regarded as indispensa- 
ble to our national prosperity and the safety of 
our free institutions. It is not the Sunday- 
school, where, from early childhood, all the 
people may study and know the Holy Scriptures 
which are able to make them wise unto salva- 
tion. Nor is it any other school, so called, such 
as the seminary, academy, college, or university. 
And yet it is really a school, more so than any 
other can be — a school in the highest, broadest, 
truest sense. 

In this institution of learning "school-days" 
are not passed when the rudimentary training of 
childhood and youth gives place to the duties 

9 



IO HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

and work of advancing maturity. Indeed, these 
days are as uncertain and variable as life itself, 
sometimes closed at an early period, and in other 
cases continued to extreme old age. 

The tuition is not conducted on any narrow 
and cramping system of human devising, nor 
marked by the ignorance, infirmities, and un- 
skillfulness of fallible teachers. It is specifically 
adapted to individual peculiarities, embraces 
every real interest of human beings, and em- 
ploys methods hitherto scarcely approached by 
the best educators among men. 

The place is no "pent-up Utica, " limited in 
capacity, apparatus, and endowment, and at- 
tended only by a select number, or from per- 
sonal choice. It is as wide as the world, and 
equal in all respects to the wants of the entire 
race. In short, it is the world itself, with its 
abundant furniture, diversified labors, and ever- 
changing scenes. Every responsible human 
being is a pupil by necessity through the whole 
period of probation, and the Father of the spirits 
of all flesh is every-where present as the Great 
Teacher. 

This view of the present state of being is not 
a mere conceit designed to illustrate a few prom- 
inent phases; it fully accords with the facts of 
the case, and affords the only complete interpre- 



THE GREAT SCHOOL. 1 1 

tation of human life, with its otherwise impene- 
trable mysteries. 

If this life were nothing more than a proba- 
tion under the administration of government, 
then its only purpose would be to ascertain what 
each one would do, and therefore what should 
be done with him at the end. It would be sim- 
ply a trial of character, to be followed by reward 
or punishment when the testing process is fin- 
ished. But, in addition to this, it is a period of 
pupilage — of preparation, as well as of proba- 
tion — where ample facilities are furnished for 
personal improvement, and where trial is wholly 
subordinate to training, and a necessary part of 
the great system of human education. 

This is only the first stage of our existence, 
the real childhood of our immortality, and is 
therefore chiefly prospective in its ultimate de- 
signs and results. Here is the beginning; here- 
after is the consummation. As "the boy is 
father of the man," so this life contains and de- 
termines the next. The right or wrong educa- 
tion of boyhood produces fruit after its own 
kind through all the years of manhood, subject 
in some degree to modifying influences ; but 
even more certainly the character of the man, 
now formed and fixed, is carried forward into 
the great future, retaining ijs essential qualities, 



12 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

and accompanied by corresponding happiness or 
misery. 

Is the training of mind and body in childhood 
of any subsequent value? Is it a wise and be- 
neficent provision that fifteen or twenty years 
are assigned as the natural period of growth, 
culture, and special training for the labors and 
responsibilities of our earthly life? Surely it is 
well that we are not thrown out upon the world, 
to bear its burdens and fight its battles, while 
yet in the ignorance and weakness of infancy; 
and it has been found that the allotted time of 
preparation is no more than enough when most 
faithfully improved. Even so the whole of life, 
as God gives it, waits upon the interests of a 
future state, and requires suitable instruction, 
discipline, and development. 

So we are all and always at school, until we 
are dismissed at death, and sent out upon the 
untried — and, alas! the often unanticipated — 
realities of another mode of being. Then the 
results of present faithfulness or neglect will 
fully appear, and the actual value of life will be 
estimated by its success or failure as a school 
of character. 

As the schooling is fraught with eternal and 
unchangeable consequences, it certainly should 
be under the most competent management. 



THE GREAT SCHOOL. 1 3 

Is the greatest wisdom of men sufficient? In 
such matters it is only foolishness, and itself 
needs instruction. But with all the knowledge 
now possessed, and derived from a higher source, 
it is still unequal to the task. Any man may 
hold and communicate correct general principles 
bearing upon the relations of the life that now is 
to that which is to come; but how can he pre- 
scribe the various details of discipline best suited 
to individual cases? Even for himself he is 
likely to misjudge under the bias of his inclina- 
tions, and so choose the present gratification 
rather than the future good; and in deciding for 
others he is just as liable to error from unavoid- 
able ignorance of the secrets of the heart. 

It is obvious, then, that none but God can 
meet the demands of the situation ; and this he 
condescends to do. This he does in very fact, 
nojt only with commensurate wisdom and com- 
mand of resources, but with a loving care that 
omits nothing needful, orders nothing but the 
best, and never overlooks the least among his 
pupils. His ways may be, and often are, un- 
searchable; but they challenge our faith as the 
ways of our only competent educator, and their 
purpose of highest wisdom and beneficence can 
never be called in question. 

Now, let this grand scheme of education 



14 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

under divine superintendence be heartily ac- 
cepted according to the facts of the case, and it 
throws a new and wonderful light upon every 
scene of life. 

Are we only children away from home at 
school? Then we have yet to attain our major- 
ity and enter upon our inheritance. Beyond 
the transition from earth an eventful future lies 
before us, all the interests of which depend of 
necessity upon our thorough personal qualifica- 
tion. To secure such qualification is, therefore, 
the one great purpose of present work. 

But what shall we do? The matter is not 
left in doubt, nor subject to chance and human 
caprice. God himself answers clearly and defi- 
nitely in the person of his Son, by the agency 
of his Spirit, through the directions of his Word 
and the orderings of his Providence. 

To the earnest disciple, alert to catch the 
lesson of the hour, nothing is insignificant, or 
without some practical bearing upon the mo- 
mentous issue. All circumstances, events, influ- 
ences, experiences, are educational in their 
tendencies and effects as adapted parts of the 
complicated scheme. Are there differences of 
treatment and mysteries of design ? The pu- 
pils are not all alike, some being quite in- 
tractable, and others ready to learn. Nor are 



THE GREAT SCHOOL. 1 5 

they, as pupils, supposed to understand the ne- 
cessity of every means of discipline; the Infalli- 
ble Teacher knows, and that is enough for the 
heartiest acquiescence and the largest confidence 
of ultimate benefit. 

With such provisions, both general and spe- 
cial, not one of all the children of men need live 
in vain; and even the lowliest life of submission 
to God may have the inspiration and joy of suc- 
cess assured, complete, and eternal. The whole 
question turns upon the one point of individual 
faithfulness in the great school. 



1 6 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



II. 

First Questions. 

IN the industries of the world, machinery 
plays an unquestionably important part. 
Judiciously employed, it economizes resources, 
diminishes toil, increases production, and secures 
many valuable results otherwise quite impossi- 
ble. Thus it comes to the front rank among 
the practical questions of the age, and engages 
a large share of attention. In what respects is 
it susceptible of improvement ? To what new 
purposes can it be applied? How shall its ben- 
efits be made yet more widely available? By 
all means, let its range of usefulness be enlarged 
to the utmost possible extent. In the world's 
great work we can not afford to lose the services 
of such an auxiliary. 

But, after all, it is nothing more than an 
auxiliary, and holds a place of only secondary 
importance. Of what advantage is the very best 
machinery in the hands of fools, drunkards, 
scoundrels, or savages? Manifestly, the first and 
great question to be considered in seeking to 



FIRST QUESTIONS. 1 7 

promote industrial prosperity relates not to ma- 
chinery, but to the men by whom it may be 
used, to their principles and abilities and real 
character. Invention follows education, business 
enterprise keeps pace with human development, 
and the decline of industry attends inevitably 
upon the decay of manhood. "The lost arts," 
of which only the slightest traces are now found 
by antiquarians, were lost with the civilization 
of which they were the product. It is therefore 
ruinously preposterous to neglect the man while 
seeking to perfect his implements, or to over- 
look the cultivation of character in absorbing 
devotion to the details of economy. Even ma- 
terial interests require that first questions shall 
be first. 

The form of civil government is generally re- 
garded as a matter of chief concern in the wel- 
fare of nations. It certainly has much to do with 
the development of the resources of a country, 
and with the progress and happiness of its peo- 
ple. One form rests upon the hereditary claims 
of a dynasty and is either an absolute or a lim- 
ited monarchy. In the one case it is adminis- 
tered by a single will, with no other than self- 
imposed restraints; in the other, power is divided 
between the sovereign and certain bodies more 
or less representative, the measure of popular 



1 8 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

liberty being determined by the provisions of a 
constitution. Quite another form is founded 
upon the inherent rights of the people, and is 
administered in all its branches by their chosen 
representatives. This lodges the power of gov- 
erning in the hands of the governed, and is sup- 
posed to be in the highest degree favorable to 
their interests. 

But what is the actual value of the most per- 
fect form of government the world has ever 
seen, when it has been committed to a majority 
of atheists and madmen? History and philoso- 
phy both furnish a most decisive answer. Free 
institutions are soon perverted, and become ut- 
terly impracticable, except when established 
upon the broad basis of popular intelligence and 
virtue. The art of individual self-government 
must first be acquired under the teachings and 
discipline of Christianity; and, until this is ac- 
complished in some good degree by a majority 
of the people, they can not safely be trusted 
with the administration of civil affairs. It is 
therefore altogether idle to attempt the universal 
enfranchisement of a nation by giving attention 
to matters of mere organization, to the neglect 
of the first and fundamental questions of intel- 
lectual and moral culture. For the greatest 
benefits of civil government, as well as of indus- 



FIRST QUESTIONS. 1 9 

trial pursuits, the natural order of precedence 
must be strictly observed, and first questions 
must ever remain first in popular regard and 
practical consideration. 

In purely personal affairs, the body seems to 
have the first claim to attention. At any rate, 
it presents and urges its claim first, and most 
clamorously. "What shall we eat? or, What 
shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be 
clothed?" is a question representing primary 
physical necessities. Little can be done by or 
for the higher nature until these imperative 
wants of the body are duly supplied. But this 
apparent precedence of the physical and material 
in human nature is confined entirely to the order 
of development and the relations of dependence 
upon external conditions. The body is first to 
declare itself, because, unlike the soul, it re- 
quires immediate and continual supplies for its 
very existence, as well as for the growth and 
vigor by which it becomes able to fulfill its pur- 
pose. But, after all, it is only the instrument 
or servant of the soul, and derives all its value 
from this relation. That is to say, while the 
body is first in dependence, and therefore in its 
asserted demands, it is really secondary in its 
legitimate rank, functions, and claims. Indeed, 
the very fact of its ceaseless dependence upon 



20 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the bread that perishes is proof of its inferiority ; 
and its claims occupy the same level with its 
necessities. 

If, then, the servant is not greater than his 
master, nor the house superior to its occupant, 
the soul is first in the order of importance, and 
may insist upon its right to chief attention. 
This right it vindicates as the active agent in 
human affairs, by carrying the blessing of cul- 
ture, or the curse of neglect, through the whole 
course of its influence. The welfare of the body 
and all other temporal interests — to say nothing 
of a future state — are involved in those of the 
soul by the operation of natural law, and accord- 
ing to the proclamation of Him who said, "Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God and his righteous- 
ness, and all these things shall be added unto 
you." This is the divinelv constituted order of 
human life; and its first questions are first by 
irreversible decree. 

With the righteous man it may be supposed 
that this order has been duly observed, and is 
never forgotten. As the Church is composed 
of such men, and avowedly conducts its opera- 
tions under the same law, we may expect to find 
here the persistent concentration of interest and 
effort upon first questions. Here, at last, is a 
grand illustration and commanding example of 



FIRST QUESTIONS. 21 

the proper methods of dealing with all human 
interests. Surely, the Church of Christ will not 
forget the spiritual in the material; nor prefer 
the " anise and cummin" to the weightier mat- 
ters of the law ; nor neglect the cultivation of its 
own piety, and the work of winning souls, by 
giving chief attention to questions of ecclesias- 
tical polity and temporal economy. Not that 
such questions are unimportant; for, like me- 
chanical contrivances in the useful arts, or the 
political institutions of a State, or the physical 
implements of the soul, the constitutional forms 
and prudential regulations of a Church have no 
small influence upon its efficiency and success; 
but they also have only a secondary place and 
claim. 

What is the machinery without the man, or 
the State without principle, or the body without 
the soul, or the Church without life? In the 
last, even more than in any of the others, effect- 
ive power comes from spiritual life. With such 
life, the most defective forms spring into vast 
achievements; without it, the most perfect be- 
come wholly impracticable, or fail of any sub- 
stantial results. The most glorious triumphs of 
the infant Church were won at Jerusalem before 
it had taken scarcely the semblance of an out- 
ward organization. The first in order then was 



22 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in answer to 
fervent prayer and as the power of effective 
work; and the precedent was established for all 
the ages. 

Thus it appears that, every-where, ways and 
means and forms are at the most of only sec- 
ondary importance. By the natural order of 
things, and the express appointment of God, 
questions relating to the spirit and character of 
the man have a rightful priority of interest and 
claim. In the established curriculum of life's 
great school, these are always first questions. 



OUT OF ORDER. 23 



III. 

Out of Order. 

IF the clock strikes six when it should strike 
two, or becomes irregular in movement, and 
now and then stops altogether, it is said to be 
''out of order;" an explanation not very specific, 
but sufficiently significant. Such a clock evi- 
dently needs repairing; it has suffered some 
injury or disarrangement of its parts, which may 
perhaps be corrected, but in consequence of 
which it now fails to serve the purpose for which 
it was made. "Out of order" indicates the 
general nature of the difficulty, and the action 
necessary to be taken. 

This being out of order may seem the merest 
trifle in itself, but it has a way of growing into 
troublesome consequence. For instance, the 
owner of the disordered clock starts from his 
slumbers at the stroke of six, and becomes fully 
aroused and ready for the day a little after mid- 
night — a striking mistake. Or, he has an im- 
portant engagement to meet at a place miles 
away on the railroad, and hurries early to the 



24 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

depot, only to find the train going and gone — 
that clock again. But the liabilities may be far 
more serious. By a slight irregularity of the 
conductor's watch a crowded railway train barely 
escapes a fearful collision — only the space of a 
minute between actual safety and averted de- 
struction. The ship's chronometer has varied 
only a few seconds since leaving port; but in 
consequence the reckoning is at fault, and the 
ship is lost among the breakers, with all on 
board. 

If a trifle of disorder breeds such trouble by 
a time-piece, what may be expected when greater 
things are out of order? Is it any wonder that 
the world is so full of trouble, when something 
is wrong, not merely with its instruments, but 
with a great number of its principal actors? 

In comparison with human beings, the time- 
piece is indeed a trifle. The clock or watch 
which fails of its purpose may be cast aside at 
the beginning, with only the loss of itself; but 
not so the self-acting man, who goes forth in the 
midst of his fellows with the human power to 
mislead and destroy. Out of order in himself, 
he becomes the very fountain of disorder and 
consequent disaster in the world. But even if 
he were to inflict no injury upon others, to be 
cast away himself, as a hopeless wreck in body 



OUT OF ORDER. 25 

and soul, is a calamity sufficiently appalling. 
Only "out of order," it is true; but that, in 
human nature, may have an extent of meaning 
no words can reach. 

What, then, shall be done? For the time- 
piece, or any mere machine — let it be repaired. 
By whom? By its maker, if possible — at least 
by some one competent to the task. Such 
course of action seems only the dictate of com- 
mon prudence, and would probably be adopted 
at once by any person interested. But how 
much more is it required for disordered human 
nature, with an organism infinitely more del- 
icate and complex! Can any man safely pre- 
sume upon his ability, without aid, to set every 
thing right in his own mysterious being? Hav- 
ing the good sense to take his chronometer to 
the one by whom it was made, will he commit 
the folly of reserving to himself a task so much 
more difficult? 

To break or mar is easy enough ; to mend or 
restore is quite another thing, and may even be 
impossible to man. For the restoration most 
needed — that of the masterpiece of creation — ■ 
little or nothing seems to have been accom- 
plished by ages of tinkering, with all the aid of 
science and philosophy and accumulated experi- 
ence. Man has brought much of his own artistic 



26 HAI.F-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

work to a marvelous degree of perfection, but 
has been utterly unable to restore in his own 
soul the lost excellence of God's work. Indeed, 
the very nature of the case is such as to admit 
of help only from God, who made and can 
make anew. 

This making anew, this readjustment and per- 
fectly right adjustment of all the higher faculties 
and functions of human beings, is the very work 
in which God is now most gloriously revealed 
to the world. Though generally called by an- 
other name, it is essentially a work of repairing, 
of putting again in order according to the wise 
and beneficent plan of our original constitution. 
A work which only God can do, and which he 
does in amazing mercy, is it not also eminently 
worth doing, and worthy even of God? The 
fact is, however low man may rate himself, and 
until he has completely effected his own destruc- 
tion, he is placed in the divine estimate as worth 
the cost of repairing. So we have the Gospel, 
with all its gracious provisions and supernatural 
agencies, God himself dwelling among men, and 
every-where accessible through Jesus Christ. 

Well may heaven rejoice and the earth be 
glad. Amid the wreck and ruin there still is 
hope. Though grievously out of order both by 
evil inheritance and by self-degradation, man is 



OUT OF ORDER. 



27 



not utterly worthless, for he is not yet cast 
away, and God appears for his reconstruction. 
Not one of all the race need suffer the failure 
of existence or the loss of himself; for creative 
power coming to renew is equal to the most 
desperate case. The same hand which guides 
the motions of the spheres, and keeps the uni- 
verse in order, is now outstretched for higher 
work, and offers relief to all mankind. Commit 
to that hand the impaired spiritual mechanism, 
and who that believes in God can doubt the re- 
sult? With him all things are possible, even 
the complete restoration of the fallen soul. 

Now, shall this repairing be done, this effect- 
ual work of the master hand? 

To be secured, it must of course be sought; 
but seeking implies something more than mere 
asking. In the matter of the clock or watch, 
the request must be accompanied by actual 
delivery, or the work can never be done. Even 
so, prayer avails nothing without actual personal 
surrender to God, or really putting ourselves 
into his hands. It is equally certain that this 
surrender of ourselves must be made just as we 
are, however bad our condition may be; and 
also that it must be a surrender, unconditional 
and absolute, of will and heart and life, of all 
we have and are. Such terms, so far from being 



HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LI? 

arbitrary, are imposed by the nature of the 

case, and could not by any possibility require 

than they do. Thorough repairing nece 
rily implies entire practical possession and con- 
trol. But however inflexible the terms, they are 

pie enough and universally available. To 
every soul access is freely granted and accept- 
ance fully assured. "Him that cometh unto me 
I ill in no wise cast out." 

But he who comes must also remain; for the 
power required to restore is equally necessary ; 
preserve. In very fact, no man is right, or e 
can be right, while alienated from his Maker. 
His only true and orderly place is that of hum- 
ble alliance with God, receiving all needed help, 
and rendering all possible r just this 

place human nature was constituted; here it is 
fitted to flourish; and nowhere else does either 
:>n or revelation afford the slightest hope of 
relief for a soul, or a world, out of order. 



AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. 29 



IV. 

An Important Discovery. 

IT may seem paradoxical, but it is a fact, that 
some truths which are readily acknowledged 
are really unknown and need to be discovered. 
Expressed in words easily understood, they re- 
ceive unhesitating assent, become familiar per- 
haps by frequent declaration as matters of belief, 
and so remain, without the slightest suspicion 
of any lack of comprehension, until in some 
mental awakening they suddenly flash upon the 
mind like a new discovery, and for the first time 
are really seen for. what they are. Numerous 
illustrations might be adduced, but one will suf- 
fice for the present purpose; it is the great fun- 
damental truth of Christianity, thus expressed : 
God loves man. 

Only three short words — God loves man — 
which may be understood by a child; and yet 
they contain a truth which is grasped slowly, 
and only with the greatest difficult}' — perhaps 
by many persons never at all. It may, indeed, 



30 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

be accepted as truth, and yet be to all intents 
and purposes as if it were not. 

If this statement is doubted, let the question 
be considered, How far does the acknowledged 
truth of God's love to man enter as a controlling 
force into ordinary human life? Whatever is 
seen and felt as real exerts from that moment, 
and of necessity, a constant and positive influ- 
ence according to the measure of its practical 
importance. Thus the value of money in human 
affairs becomes one of the most potential facts in 
life, chiefly because it is seen as an ever-present, 
prominent, and impressive reality. If the higher 
truth of God's love were in like manner brought 
from the realm of dead abstractions, and placed 
in the very front of human perceptions, it would 
at once sway the scepter of a prince; but, be- 
cause it has no such dominating influence over 
life, the conclusion seems inevitable that it re- 
mains only a dimly conceived and half-believed 
article of creed. 

Why this supreme and vital truth should find 
such difficulty in gaining possession of the mind 
and life is a question for the curious. Perhaps 
it is because the senses furnish the chief subjects 
of thought, and so divert or withhold attention 
from truths lying below the surface of things. 
It may be on account of a perverse disinclination 



AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. 3 1 

to entertain any thoughts whatever concerning 
God, and an utter abandonment of all human 
interests above the material and sensual. But 
these reasons, though widely applicable, are not 
a sufficient explanation of all cases. 

The difficulty occurs with many persons who 
are accustomed to think upon life's deeper prob- 
lems, and who would gladly arrive at the knowl- 
edge of the truth and the possession of every 
excellence of character. With such it is possible 
that the view of the truth in question is partly 
obstructed by the nearer and intervening fact of 
personal unworthiness and demerit; or this fact 
may fill the whole range of vision, and so con- 
trol both thought and feeling as to render a clear 
conception of God's love, for the time being, 
quite impossible. False interpretations of Scrip- 
ture may also interpose like clouds to increase 
obscurity, and confirm the natural shrinking and 
incredulity of conscious unlovableness. Why 
should and how can God, the infinitely holy and 
perfect Being, love a creature so poor and insig- 
nificant, so defective in every way and sinful? 
And then, though he may love the race as such, 
or the best of the race, is it not the height of 
presumption to believe that one person of count- 
less millions is distinctively the object of his 
love, and that one perhaps the least of all? So 



32 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the self-reasoning proceeds directly against the 
truth, and all the while with a desire to believe 
the truth. Such love — if it only were true; 
but no, it is too good to be true, too great and 
wonderful to be believed. To this questioning 
the only sufficient answer is the fact — the abso- 
lute fact. 

With an entirely different class of persons 
there seems to be no difficulty whatever in re- 
ceiving the truth in question. They appear not 
only to accept it, but to make it the only article 
of their religious creed, and then endeavor to 
draw from it conclusions favoring the widest 
latitude of sinful indulgence, and justifying com- 
posure or indifference in the direst perils of the 
soul. Because of God's love, God's will may 
be violated with almost entire impunity. But a 
little closer examination will probably discover 
in these persons only a vague belief, or effort to 
believe, combined with gross misapprehensions 
of the character of God and of the nature of his 
love. The difficulty is evidently as great here 
as in other cases, though of a different kind; 
and the real truth still remains to be discovered. 

But whatever these difficulties may be, it is 
very certain that they arise from something in 
man himself, and not from any defects in the 
methods of revelation. Indeed, they seem to 



AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. 33 

have been anticipated here, and met at every 
point, and by every means possible. 

Thus the Word of God carefully distinguishes 
between man and his sin, and reveals that love 
for man which seeks his highest good by deliv- 
erance from sin, his greatest evil. It also en- 
deavors to arrest attention and awaken interest 
by many varied forms of appeal, and replies to 
every self-accusing fear with some specific prom- 
ise. As if an explicit declaration of the truth 
were not sufficient, it is perpetually reiterated in 
the strongest terms, and adapted to ordinary 
comprehension by the most familiar anjd forcible 
illustrations. In order to give the full assurance 
needed, language seems to be wrought up to its 
very highest power of expression. 

But, after all, words either written or spoken 
are only arbitrary signs without life; therefore, 
the great Word was made flesh, and divine love 
lives in human form, Jesus of Nazareth, full of 
grace and truth. His wonderful life speaks in 
facts louder and clearer than any verbal utter- 
ance, and from first to last is a concrete and 
perfect demonstration of the truth. Thus God's 
love to man, which is the great fact to be 
grasped, is so compressed into limited and vis- 
ible forms that it may be grasped. By the very 
nature of things, nothing more is possible in 

3 



34 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the revelation of the divine love as an absolute 
reality. 

Now, if this truth is ever to gain possession 
of the mind, it certainly must be looked at with 
the best eyes one may have, and with any 
needed help to vision. It must be looked at, 
not as a mental abstraction, but as a living, 
present, incontrovertible fact. It must be looked 
at, not carelessly, or once in a life-time, but with 
closest scrutiny, frequently and habitually. Let 
it thus be kept before the mind, and treated as 
a reality of some presumable significance, and it 
will soon hold its place and begin to assert its 
power among other acknowledged realities — but 
never otherwise. 

Such intellectual possession, however, is only 
a part of the process of discovery. The truth 
which has been properly looked at may now be 
easily looked into, and all its hidden riches will 
be gradually disclosed. 

God loves man! What does it mean? Per- 
haps he will help the feeble comprehension. 
But the question itself can never be exhausted. 
God's love — has it any meaning concerning hu- 
man character, the heart, the motives, the con- 
duct? Stop, and look, and see. Is not the 
truth now unfolding to the gaze? Further, has 
it any practical bearing upon the affairs of life 



AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. 35 

and of death, giving aught of light or comfort 
or strength ? 

So let the questioning proceed every day of 
life, with open heart and mind intent, and God's 
light shall come with God's love to complete the 
great discovery. 



J 



6 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



V. 

The Indispensable Requisite. 

IN every work there is a certain chief part or 
staple, without which all the rest amounts to 
nothing. Thus a ship, in order to be a ship 
proper, must float in the water. If built upon 
stocks from which it can not be launched, or if 
cast high and dry upon the beach whence it can 
not be removed, or if so constructed that when 
once in the water it will sink to the bottom, it 
may have the form and appointments of a ship, 
but can never serve its purpose. The merchant 
must have a market for his goods, or he is a 
merchant onlv in name. Agriculture is a failure 
where production is impossible. The starving 
man is not relieved from danger until he par- 
takes of suitable food. The patient derives no 
benefit from the skill of the physician unless his 
case is reported for treatment. 

In these and thousands of other instances in 
every-day life, it is the province of common 
sense to discern what is really essential, the main 
condition of success, and to keep it steadily in 



THE INDISPENSABLE REQUISITE. 37 

view. Because of such useful service, this kind 
of sense — whether common or uncommon — is 
justly held in high repute; and the man who 
would dispense with its aid is sure to come to 
grief. So it is in ordinary affairs, at least. 

But is the case changed the moment we pass 
to the higher affairs of the soul? Surely, where 
the greatest possible interests are involved, the 
knowledge of necessary conditions rises to su- 
preme importance. Failure here is failure com- 
plete and eternal. But while the exercise of 
common sense is demanded in religion far more 
than elsewhere, it has the infallible direction of 
divine truth, and need never mistake the inci- 
dental and subordinate for the chief and indis- 
pensable. 

Unquestionably, the main requisite is direct 
personal communication with the Lord Jesus Christ. 
This is to every soul of man what the water is 
to the ship, or the market to the merchandise, 
or production to agriculture, or food to the fam- 
ishing, or medical aid to the sick. That is to 
say, such communication is absolutely necessary 
to spiritual interests, and without it all else is 
wholly ineffectual. From the very nature of 
things, and by the formal appointment of God 
for all humanity, it is the indispensable condi- 
tion — sine qua 11011. 



38 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Thus the soul is brought into those intimate 
relations to God, for which it was expressly con- 
stituted, and in which alone it finds true life and 
fruitfulness, the supply of its wants, and the 
remedy for its disease. Christ is all and has all 
that we need for the accomplishment of the great 
end of our existence. As responsible human 
beings passing on to a future state, we succeed 
with him, and fail without him. 

His various offices and manifold relations, 
language is burdened to express. He is at once 
the sacrifice and the Priest; the humble servant 
and the mighty Conqueror ; the confidential 
friend and the sovereign Lord ; the door into the 
fold and the Shepherd of the sheep ; the way to 
be followed, the truth to be learned, and the life 
to be lived; the great Physician, Teacher, Coun- 
selor, Advocate, Lawgiver, and Judge; the Son 
of man and the Son of God, — having all power, 
and present alike in earth and heaven. But all 
expression fails ; mere words can never convey 
the mighty meaning of "God manifest in the 
flesh." What he is, and what he can do for 
every one who comes to him, must be learned 
by coming and abiding for evermore. 

Of course, this coming and abiding is strictly 
and necessarily personal ; it can not be done by 
one for another. It may receive aid from others 



THE INDISPENSABLE REQUISITE. 39 

in the form of invitation, persuasion, counsel, 
and encouragement, but must be performed by 
each one for himself, as being entirely his own 
action, originated and sustained from within. 

This independent and voluntary self-action 
can not be too strongly insisted upon. The so- 
lution of the problem requires the actual con- 
tact and intercommunication of two living and 
acting persons, the man to be healed and Christ, 
the only Healer. The body might be brought; 
the soul must come. It must come of its own 
choice, in the use of its own powers, and thus 
remain. The necessity of such individual action 
is sufficiently obvious, though it is often over- 
looked and practically disregarded, under one 
pretext and another. 

But the right thus to come is also strictly 
personal; and, like the so-called natural rights, 
it is inalienable. While it must be exercised in 
order to any personal benefit, it can never be 
transferred to another. Happily, there is no 
lack. Every human being, as a separate and 
distinct individual — one as much as another — 
may claim the right by virtue of divine gift, and 
in like manner receive all its benefits. In this 
respect all are equal; "for there is no difference 
between the Jew and the Greek; for the same 
Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him ; 



40 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

for whosoever shall call upon the name of the 
Lord shall be saved." 

If communication with Christ is to be per- 
sonal as a matter of necessity and right, it is to 
be so in the fullest sense; that is, direct, in one's 
own proper person, without interference of any 
kind whatsoever. As the privilege of such ap- 
proach and intercourse is the greatest and most 
sacred of human rights, it should be most jeal- 
ously guarded and maintained. Like all other 
rights, it is exposed to human encroachments, 
whether made of set purpose or wholly unde- 
signed. 

For centuries a corrupt form of Christianity 
has interposed the mediation of saints and of 
the Virgin Mary, the unauthorized offices of the 
priest and the arrogant assumptions of the Pope, 
the imposing splendor of its ritual and the delu- 
sive merit of mere forms and ordinances. What- 
ever may be the pretexts of such action, it 
certainly is an impious usurpation of divine pre- 
rogative, a gross infringement of religious liberty, 
an utter perversion of the proper functions of a 
Christian Church. 

But under better auspices, where such things 
are held in abhorrence, there still is danger of 
some unwarrantable and fatal interference. Even 
in its best estate, the Church may unwittingly 



THE INDISPENSABLE REQUISITE. 41 

come between the souls of men and Christ, and 
in effect, though without intention, obstruct 
rather than facilitate communication with him. 
To some extent this is done whenever the Church 
unduly magnifies its own importance, attracts 
special attention to itself, and favors the common 
tendency to stop short of Christ in a merely for- 
mal membership. The attractive minister often 
wins converts only to himself, and so far fails in 
his work. Another is professional in manner, or 
impertinently officious, and likewise fails. In 
all effort for the spiritual welfare of men, unless 
the strictest regard be paid to the necessity and 
right of direct communication with Christ, it is 
certain there can be no true success. 

But to provide against the common liabilities 
and difficulties of the case, one fact must be 
made prominent and impressive as an absolute 
verity. The Lord Jesus is present and acces- 
sible to every human being, requiring on his 
part no mediation, receiving all who come di- 
rectly to him, and doing "exceeding abundantly 
above all that we ask or think." So in every 
life there may be infallibly secured its true place, 
highest privilege, and most indispensable requi- 
site — intimate relationship with Christ, the vital 
union of the human with the divine. 



42 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



VI. 

Safety in Temptation. 

EVIL abounds in our world, and is propa- 
gated by solicitations artfully varied to suit 
all circumstances and all persons. It never fully 
succeeds except by gaining consent of the will, 
and therefore continually aims at this one point, 
whatever may be the methods employed. As it 
is always bold and aggressive — seeking new vic- 
tims with tireless energy, and accepting even 
the smallest advantage — no one can hope to be 
altogether exempt from its solicitations in the 
present life. 

But, though entire exemption is out of the 
question, is not safety possible? May we not be 
absolutely secure against the triumphs of evil 
over ourselves? Undoubtedly, if we use the 
means provided. The Lord Jesus himself "was 
in all points tempted like as we are, yet without 
sin;" and "he is able to succor them that are 
tempted." This aid is easily available, while it 
it is fully assured by the promise: "God is faith- 
ful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above 



SAFETY IN TEMPTATION. 43 

that ye are able, but will with the temptation 
make a way to escape." No plea of necessity 
can, therefore, ever be made for consenting to 
evil. Like the Master, the disciple may stand 
secure against all assaults. 

Are there not, however, different degrees of 
safety? For example, the temptation to partake 
of wine, or other alcoholic stimulants, may be 
very powerful, as when urged by an intimate 
friend, or exacted by prevailing custom. Under 
its influence the "total abstinence" man is less 
likely to be affected than the "moderate drinker," 
who has no convictions or resolutions to fortify 
him against it; and one who has never tasted 
the cup is certainly more secure than the re- 
formed inebriate, whose appetite is only slum- 
bering. In the one case principle is the safe- 
guard; in the other, lack of inclination. When 
both are combined the highest degree of safety 
is reached — supposing, of course, the temptation 
itself to be unavoidable. So, also, in actual 
temptations of every kind. Safety ranges all the 
way from the point of difficult, yet successful, 
resistance to that of triumph without conflict. 

There are also differences in the temptations 
themselves, in respect not only of kind, but of 
relative strength. A may be greatly affected by 
a temptation which B would hardly notice, and 



44 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

vice versa; while neither would have any diffi- 
culty in resisting many temptations which have 
proved fatal to others. These differences arise 
from the very nature of temptations, as solicita- 
tions specially adapted to different temperaments 
and circumstances — their actual strength consist- 
ing in their adaptation. Where there is no re- 
sponse, no answering feeling, but rather settled 
opposition and disinclination, there is little or no 
power of temptation. So we see again that, 
whatever the temptation may be, the question 
of safety is determined, to a great extent, by 
something in the condition of the person tempted. 

Now, we may ask, is it possible for any one 
to be in a condition altogether unfavorable to 
temptations of every kind — a state where there 
shall be no responsive inclinations whatever? 
Or, supposing natural inclinations always to ex- 
ist, may they become zv holly unresponsive to evil? 
This is no merely speculative question, but one 
of deepest practical import, relating to the ex- 
perience and safety of all who think it worth 
while to resist temptation. 

Probably the answer would have to be in the 
negative, but for one fact. Evil is opposition to 
God, and is always generically the same, what- 
ever may be its specific differences; that is to 
say, it is the same in its real nature or essence, 



SAFETY IN TEMPTATION. 45 

though differing in its particular forms or mani- 
festations. Resistance, therefore, to any evil, 
because it is evil, implies resistance to every other 
evil. But Christianity is a scheme of just such 
resistance; it is essentially a system of uncom- 
promising antagonism to all evil as such ; it comes 
to restore man to God by resisting and over- 
throwing every thing which is against God. 

For this purpose may we not believe it to be 
practically sufficient? Is Christianity, either in 
whole or in part, a failure? If it ever seems to 
be so, it must be because it is not fully accepted. 
It has the most perfect adaptation to its avowed 
purpose, the conquest of evil, because it em- 
bodies the wisdom of God; and it can not be 
ineffective, for it is "the power of God unto 
salvation to every one that believeth. " 

This is the important fact in our inquiry; for 
what would be otherwise quite impossible may 
now be easily possible in every case. To obtain 
the true answer, therefore, we have only to as- 
certain how far this salvation goes. 

Finding man under the power of evil, the 
Gospel awakens him to a sense of his danger, 
by consent effects his release, and puts him in 
an attitude of pledged resistance, intrenched and 
fortified by the strongest principles. Rut is this 
all? The man thus saved is still exposed to 



46 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

temptations, which, perhaps, are more subtile 
and persistent than ever before. Has he noth- 
ing but good principles and firm resolutions with 
which to maintain his new position ? Where 
are his inclinations, how do they stand, in the 
assaults of temptation ? This is really the crit- 
ical point in his condition. If they are still 
favorable to evil, he is like a fortress containing 
traitors, who are ready at any moment to open 
the gate to the enemy. Now, what does the 
Gospel do for him right here, where his danger 
and need are the greatest? 

Happily for him and all others, this is the 
very place of the Spirit's work. It is in the 
renewal of the heart, primarily and especially, 
that the power of God is employed unto sal- 
vation. Here an entirely new regime is estab- 
lished, in which the love of God is supreme. 
Dangerous inclinations are subdued and "brought 
into captivity to the obedience of Christ. M The 
natural faculties and propensities are not de- 
stroyed, but are simply put in their proper 
place and made to serve their true purpose, un- 
der a new and right disposing force. They still 
respond to legitimate incitements, or solicita- 
tions; but by virtue of their subjection, and just 
to the extent of their subjection, they cease to 
respond to evil. The change wrought by the 



SAFETY IN TEMPTATION. 47 

Holy Spirit is so great and marvelous, so radical 
and thorough, that the Scriptures can hardly 
find language strong enough to describe it. But 
this change is particularly and essentially a 
change in respect to evil; and, beginning with 
the inclinations, it is completed only when they 
are brought into a state wholly unfavorable to all 
the solicitations of evil. 

Such is God's method of succoring those who 
are tempted — not so much by outward interpo- 
sition as by inward qualification ; not by prevent- 
ing temptation, but by giving ability to over- 
come it. If temptations are specially adapted 
to the various peculiarities of temperament, so 
also is this help of God ; and it is equally effect- 
ive in every case, because it is expressly pro- 
vided against all evil, as such. . 

Of course, this help is for all persons alike, 
in all circumstances where duty may call them ; 
but it must be sought according to the terms of 
the promise, by fervent prayer, with resolute 
watchfulness against sin, and entire consecration 
to God. When thus sought it is never with- 
held, and is always so abundant in measure that 
it soon decides the contest. But it should be 
sought and obtained not merely as a temporary 
relief in the hour of temptation, but as a settled 
condition of the soul, a permanent provision of 



48 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

power against all possible surprises. When God 
abides with us continually, according to his 
promise, ' ' working in us both to will and to do 
of his good pleasure," then, and only then, do 
we reach the highest degree of safety in tempta- 
tion. 



THE MASTER PASSION. 49 



VII. 

The Master Passion. 

IN ordinary human nature the various passions 
are somewhat evenly balanced, each having 
sufficient strength to assert itself on occasion. 
Frequently, in conflict one with another, they 
rule by turns, according to the favor of circum- 
stances, or the nature of external influences. 
As the temporary incitement is withdrawn or 
changed, the passion which depended upon it 
subsides, or gives place to another. Thus, un- 
less some competent regulating power has been 
firmly established, the internal government of 
human nature is subject to constant fluctuation, 
as in a state of anarchy. 

But there are doubtless many instances in 
which some one passion acquires supreme and 
permanent control. This may be true of the 
natural appetites, and of certain habits, like 
liquor-drinking and opium-eating, which involve 
more or less of physical disease; but it is equally 
true of purely mental affections. In the case of 
the miser, the love of money becomes absorbing; 

4 



50 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

it takes entire possession of the soul, crushing 
out all other aspirations and desires; it even 
holds in check the appetites, so that he suffers 
< the pangs of hunger' rather than expend his 
hoarded treasures. Ambition affords a similar 
example of the practical subjection, if not the 
complete extinction, of all opposing desires. It 
has sometimes obtained such absolute supremacy 
as to override and apparently abolish conscience, 
natural affection, and even the ordinary instincts 
of humanity. The same may be said also of 
jealousy and revenge. 

Such passions are terrible masters ; for they 
usurp a place to which they are not entitled, 
and rule only by subjecting or destroying every 
good and noble impulse. The dominion of any 
one of them is a relentless despotism, worse, if 
possible, than the anarchy for which it is sub- 
stituted. 

Happily for the world, the ruling passion is 
not always evil. Though it may not be of the 
highest order of excellence, yet so far as it is 
good it fosters and employs the good, while it 
suppresses the evil. Thus, for instance, the 
simple love of knowledge is often so strong as 
easily to overcome the allurements, not only of 
vice, but of ease, wealth, pleasure, and power. 
It has held many a strong and impulsive nature 



THE MASTER PASSION. 5 I 

to the steady pursuit of some important inquiry, 
through a life-time of toil and self-denial. Com- 
bined with other motives, it has led to explora- 
tions and discoveries involving- the greatest per- 
sonal sacrifices, and has been the chief inspiration 
of enterprises in which such men as Kane in the 
Arctic Seas, and Livingstone in Central Africa, 
have cheerfully encountered almost incredible 
hardships and perils. 

But in every case, where extraordinary energy 
and enthusiasm are manifested in persistent and 
absorbing devotion to one pursuit, we may be 
sure that some power, either good or bad, has 
gained dominion of the soul. Whatever this 
master passion may be, if it is really such, it is 
certainly able to hold in abeyance, or effectu- 
ally silence, all the rest — except as they enter 
its service. 

Now, suppose the love of God to be shed 
abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost, and we 
have human nature endowed with an entirely 
new passion — the highest and noblest in the 
universe. 

And this passion is an essential characteristic 
of true Christians — is necessary to constitute 
them such. Imparted by divine agency, it con- 
sists not only in love to God, but in God's love 
itself; it is the same in kind, and thus makes us 



52 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

" partakers of the divine nature." It is clearly 
distinct from any natural human love; for it is 
superadded, as so much of God in man. Lost 
from the soul by original sin, it is now restored 
through the atonement of Christ, by the work 
of the Spirit, on the simple conditions prescribed 
in the Gospel ; and it supplies the one great 
natural deficiency of the human constitution. It 
is this which lifts up the creature into the like- 
ness and fellowship of the Creator, and consti- 
tutes the distinguishing glory of the Gospel of 
Christ. Certainly no greater gift is in the power 
of God himself, for it is the giving of his own 
most glorious attribute. 

With such views of the nature and origin of 
the vital element of Christian character, can any 
one be in doubt concerning its rightful place and 
power in the soul? t 

In him from whom it is derived it possesses 
infinite might and majesty; for "God is love," 
and " commendeth his love toward us in that, 
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ,, 
This same love is supreme in the whole life of 
heaven, the master passion of angels and of the 
spirits of just men made perfect. Shall it be 
any thing less in the hearts of saints on earth? 
If it is not the master passion at the very begin- 
ning of the Christian life, should it not speedily 



THE MASTER PASSION. 53 

become so? Our likeness to God consists not 
only in the possession, but in the predominance, 
of this love. As with him it is a ruling force, 
so it must be with us — dominating all other 
passions, and having absolute control of the 
heart and the life. In this very measure, as a 
master passion, it is fully piovided for by the 
work of the Spirit, vehemently urged upon us 
in the Scriptures, and is manifestly the will of 
God concerning us. Its proper place and power, 
therefore, admit of no question among the disci- 
ples of Christ. 

But while no other passion can present sim- 
ilar claim to supremacy — the claim of divine 
origin and authority; no other has such marvel- 
ous adaptations and effects. 

Love seems to be the very power needed to 
restore harmony to the soul, by subduing the 
natural passions, and establishing over them a 
just, beneficent, and stable government. For 
this it is abundantly competent. Let it be en- 
throned within, and immediately it puts all other 
powers and faculties in their true place, and to 
their appropriate service. Reigning in strict ac- 
cordance with the original and perfect constitu- 
tion of man, it prevents irregularities, excesses, 
and all other evils; while it secures healthful 
life, right activity, and the fullness of peace and 



54 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

joy. Now, the appetites are subject to law; 
love of money is appreciation of divine bounty; 
ambition takes the direction of excellence and 
usefulness; revenge is the demoniac clothed, 
and sitting at the feet of Jesus; love of knowl- 
edge is the disciple seeking the means of better 
service ; and love divine is sovereign alone. 
This is God's own government for human na- 
ture — his kingdom in the soul — and heaven 
begun below. 

Here, then, is our relief — simple, practicable, 
and all-sufficient. What we have seen to be 
possible with other passions, surely, is not less 
so with this. If any mere usurper, like the 
love of gold, can obtain such mastery as easily 
to overcome all opposition from within and 
without, how much more can the legitimate 
sovereign of the soul, when re-enforced by the 
omnipotent Spirit? 

And in our present earthly condition, what 
can be more desirable, or more important to our 
true welfare? Every interest of character and 
destiny is at stake. Some mighty moral force is 
made imperatively necessary by the strength of 
natural propensities, by the presence of insidious 
temptations, and by all the difficulties which be- 
set our appointed work. In this extremity of 
our need, God is certainly incapable of mocking 



THE MASTER PASSION. 55 

us by holding out expectations which can never 
be realized ; and what he has provided is actually 
and amply sufficient for all demands. To subdue 
our enemies, to succeed in our work, and to 
enjoy the fullness of the great salvation, we 
have only to give place to the love of God as 
our one real and perpetual master passion. 



56 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



VIII. 

Under Difficulties. 

IS this the natural condition of human life? 
Are difficulties appointed in the very consti- 
tution of things? So it seems. 

The great sea divides the lands of the globe, 
and is trackless, treacherous, and full of perils to 
navigation. Over countries thickly inhabited 
Winter holds relentless reign during a large part 
of every year, and demands the tribute of dili- 
gent preparation. When Winter yields to Spring, 
briers and thorns appear as the spontaneous 
growth of the soil, and are sure to keep posses- 
sion until displaced by the hand of toil, 

The shelter and clothing required for every 
season are found only in their raw materials — in 
the possibilities of woods and rocks and folds 
and fields. The choicest treasures of the earth, 
like the fabulous riches of Arabian story, are 
accessible only to the "Open sesame" of patient 
industry. Pearls are concealed in natural caskets 
beneath the waves; diamonds are scattered un- 
recognized among the sands on the shore; gold, 



UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 57 

silver, and other precious or useful metals, are 
locked up in the vaults of the mountains, or 
mingled in fragments with the soil of the val- 
leys; while the coal which warms and moves 
the world, and the oil for its machinery and 
light, must be broken from original packages in 
the rocks, or drawn from reservoirs far down in 
the nethermost depths of the earth. 

But this is only the beginning of labor. The 
difficulties encountered in the collection of ma- 
terials are repeated in varying forms through the 
whole process of manufacture and use — every- 
where imposing the necessity of effort and skill. 

It might have been quite otherwise. The 
power required to make the world as if is was 
sufficient to have established an entirely different 
condition of things. The sea mi^ht have been 
without dangers, and the Winter without dis- 
comfort or dearth. Houses, finished and fur- 
nished, might have been made to grow like 
trees; and towns and cities, like forests. Gar- 
ments of every style and quality, like fruits and 
flowers, might have been a simple product of 
nature. Instead of the full corn in the ear — to 
be gathered and threshed and ground and 
baked — the earth might have brought forth 
loaves of bread ready for the table. All things 
precious might have been displayed in profusion 



58 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

upon the surface; and all things necessary, fully 
prepared for immediate use. It was not impos- 
sible for God to make a world in which the in- 
habitants should be wholly exempt from enforced 
or difficult exertion. 

But this has not been done ; and it is well. 
Even with our limited faculties it is easy to see, 
in part at least, the wisdom of the present order 
of things. 

The sea has always been to maritime nations 
a vast gymnasium for the training of athletes, a 
field of difficulties specially adapted to their 
intellectual and physical development. The 
Winter of the Temperate Zone has its ample 
compensations in the prudence, vigor, and enter- 
prise which it fosters, as is fully attested by the 
manifest superiority of the inhabitants of such 
regions over those of the tropics. Forests and 
rocks may contend with agriculture for the pos- 
session of the soil; but the places where such is 
the case have often become famous for the pro- 
duction of great men, made great by the disci- 
pline of early hardship and toil. 

Necessity is the mother not only of invention, 
but of all activity and development. The dis- 
trustful anxiety concerning food, clothing, and 
shelter, — it is this which is hurtful, and not the 
sturdy effort to secure them. Indeed, the very 



UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 59 

effort which is required in procuring, under diffi- 
culties, the things really needed is itself our 
greatest need ; for it is indispensable to the pro- 
motion of the health and strength of both body 
and mind. Take away the spur of want, with- 
draw the challenge of natural difficulties, absolve 
man from all necessity of exertion, thus leaving 
him to the enervating influence of luxurious in- 
dolence, and he would soon be good for nothing. 

The truth „ is, the world was made for man, 
and not man for the world. Human life on 
earth is a school, and not the least important of 
its discipline is labor under difficulties. 

The practical and successful men of the world 
accept the situation. Instead of idly bemoaning 
the inevitable difficulties of business life, they 
regard it as a part of their business to grapple 
with them and leave them vanquished behind. 
They have no toleration for disheartening fears, 
weak complaints, irresolute efforts, and conse- 
quent failures. They act upon the sensible 
maxim to take things as they are and make the 
best of them. Indeed, they often -find the chief 
zest of their employments in the strength and 
joy of struggle and triumph, in the perfect 
mastery of difficulties the most formidable. 
With such views of work, is it any wonder that 
they succeed? Laying all their plans and adjust- 



60 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

ing all their forces with special reference to 
obstructions, they tunnel the mountains, bring 
down the hills, fill up the valleys, span the 
rivers, reclaim the arid deserts, hold back the 
waters of the sea, penetrate the underground 
world for its wealth, open a way for thought 
through the channels of the deep, send forth 
floating palaces in the face of the tempest, and 
exercise dominion over the earth by the right of 
legitimate conquest. 

Such results were evidently contemplated in 
the first commission given to the representative 
man ; the earth was to be subdued by human 
agency. The subjection of matter to mind was 
to be completed when mind should once prove 
its supremacy by an enterprise and skill equal 
to the task. So, after all, the difficulties of our 
natural condition are only relative; they lose 
their character as difficulties when met by a suf- 
ficient force. Absolute difficulties — that is, the 
insurmountable — are found only in a course of 
opposition to God, and never when acting under 
his commission, and in accord with his natural 
and moral law. 

And herein is a great lesson for Christian 
workers. Difficulties, so called, abound over 
the whole field. They confront every project, 
and beset every undertaking, which has in view, 



UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 6l 

directly or indirectly, the real spiritual good of 
ourselves or of our fellows. What then? Are 
they not found in all labor under the sun? And 
shall the men of this world always be wiser in 
their generation than the children of light? 
Shall w r e ourselves be wiser in mere worldly 
business — more bold, energetic, and skillful — 
than in the supreme work of the Christian life ? 
To resist temptation, subdue self, acquire all 
possible knowledge, help the needy in body or 
soul, bear with the infirmities of our associates, 
overcome evil of every kind with good, and aid 
effectually in subduing the world unto Christ — 
this is indeed a stupendous work, far exceeding 
all physical conquests ; but it is not impossible, 
for God leads the way. To succeed is simply to 
meet and overcome difficulties. 



62 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE, 



IX. 

The One Great Work. 

DULY regulated work is both a privilege 
and a duty. At the very beginning it was 
ordained for the good of man. All his faculties 
of soul and body required the employment which 
was furnished in the ample field of a newly 
created world. Even at his highest estate, before 
the exclusion from Eden, he was not left in idle- 
ness ; and subsequently he was cursed not with 
labor itself, but only with its incidents of ex- 
treme difficulty and severity. 

The law enjoining labor of some kind upon 
all who are capable of it still remains in force, 
unchanged in its beneficent purpose and moral 
obligation. It is the order of the universe, from 
the Creator and Sovereign himself down to the 
humblest of his intelligent creatures. "My 
Father worketh hitherto, and I work," said the 
divine Man, who came to fulfill the law and make 
it honorable; and all men are bound to follow 
the great example. "1 must work the works of 
him that sent me, while it is day." 



THE ONE GREAT WORK. 63 

So all true work is by the appointment of 
God, who has sent every man into the world 
and given him his day. Into this happy fellow- 
ship with himself and his Son, Jesus Christ, God 
would admit the whole human family. In all 
the provisions and requirements of his Word, 
and through all the administration of his moral 
government, he has this end in view; and at the 
last he will bring every work into, judgment, 
and " render to every man according to his 
deeds." Christianity, throughout, is a system 
of work regulated by the will of God, fully fur- 
nished with the needed help, and covering the 
whole period, together with every possible inter- 
est, of human life. 

The work thus required is unquestionably of 
vast proportions, and of an almost infinite vari- 
ety. It is so divided and subdivided that every 
one of all the busy multitudes may find some- 
thing to do which is suited to his capacity and 
needed by the world. Something for every one 
to do is a fundamental necessity provided for in 
the established order of things. It is required 
alike for the benefit of the individual and for the 
general good of the race. No provision is any- 
where made for idleness; and no life is left with- 
out a suitable calling. 

Great mistakes are doubtless made in the 



64 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

selection of employment, and man}' inventions 
are sought out. to escape it altogether; but the 
common sense of mankind accepts the obvious 
truth that there is some part of the world's work 
specifically assigned to each individual, and for 
which he is held responsible. To find and do 
that part, whatever it may be, is to fulfill the 
purpose and insure the success of life. 

But, in all the vast variety offered for selec- 
tion, is there any work which is so comprehen- 
sive, and which so far outranks even* other, that 
it ma}' be called the one great work for every 
human being? If so, what is it? 

The first necessity of man is food. On this 
depend life, growth, happiness, and the very 
power to work. All food for the body is derived 
directly or indirectly from the soil. To produce 
it was necessarily the first and chief employ- 
ment. Adam was a gardener; Abel, a keeper 
of flocks; Cain, a tiller of the field. Patriarchs 
and prophets were shepherds and herdsmen and 
plowmen. The great question of the nations, 
"What shall we eat, and wherewithal shall we 
be clothed?" is answered in their labors. How- 
ever numerous and diversified may be the em- 
ployments of men, they have in view primarily 
the supply of physical necessities, the support 
of life. Every form of business is dependent 



THE ONE GREAT WORK. 6$ 

upon that which produces food, and which may 
therefore be called the first in the order of 
nature. 

Now, if man were no more than an animal, 
then "getting a living" by producing or obtain- 
ing food would be properly, as it often is actu- 
ally, the one great work. But, as the. body is 
only the instrument of the soul, the support of 
physical life is the means to an end infinitely 
higher. We labor to live, but we live to labor 
for something more than a living. If the work 
necessary to procure bread is the first in the 
order of nature, it is the first in an ascending 
series which culminates in the one great "work, 
namely, the ministering of food to the soul for the 
development and maintenance of the highest life 
possible to man. 

What is this work but learning and teaching 
"the truth as it is in Jesus?" 

To the multitude who sought him because 
they "did eat of the loaves and were filled," he 
said, "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, 
but for that meat which endureth unto everlast- 
ing life, which the Son of man shall give unto 
you." "My Father giveth you the true bread 
from heaven; for the bread of God is he which 
cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto 
the world. I am the bread of life. He that 

5 



66 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

cometh to me shall never hunger ; and he that 
believeth on me shall never thirst." "He that 
eateth of this bread shall live forever." 

Here, then, is the one great need of the 
world, to provide for which became the work 
of Him "who at sundry times and in divers 
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by 
the prophets, and hath in these last days spoken 
unto us by his Son." The provisions thus 
made, and the words thus spoken, are as neces- 
sary for the soul as is food for the body, and 
serve a similar purpose; for "they are spirit and 
they are life." 

But, if labor is required for the meat which 
perisheth, it is equally necessary for that which 
endureth unto everlasting life. God gives of the 
latter as of the former, but only to those who 
seek earnestly, actively, continually. "In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," seems 
to have application to the soul as well as to the 
body, and probably for the same reason. It is 
certain, in the one case as in the other, that 
various difficulties are experienced and must be 
overcome. To search out the truth, to know it 
and live by it, is a work which in many instances 
involves even more of effort than is required in 
procuring a support from the fruits of the earth. 
At any rate, it is never successfully accomplished 



THE ONE GREAT WORK. 67 

by the careless or the indolent. Nor can it be 
done through hired servants. Whatever aid it 
may receive from the ministry of instruction, 
the labor of learning and appropriating the truth 
is strictly personal, a something for every one 
to do, and an essential part of his most impor- 
tant work. 

The counterpart of learning is teaching. It 
is the necessary antecedent, and should be the 
invariable consequent. Every one who has 
learned the truth of life is bound to make it 
known, just so far as he has ability and oppor- 
tunity. " Freely ye have received; freely give." 
"He that withholdeth corn, the people shall 
curse him;" and how much more when "the 
people perish for lack of knowledge" wickedly 
withheld. To furnish relief, in such a case, is to 
render the greatest possible service, and the very 
service enjoined in the Gospel. 

Next to receiving the truth, its communica- 
tion is the distinguishing work of the Christian 
life and calling. It belongs to the minister, the 
Sunday-school teacher, the heads of families; 
but not to these alone. Every man is to teach 
his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 
"Know the Lord," until all shall know him, 
from the least unto the greatest. 

In some way, and by some means, every 



68 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

disciple of the Great Teacher may show forth 
the life-giving truth, and so has the privilege 
and responsibility of bearing a part in the one 
great work. 



OVER AND OVER AGAIN. 6g 



X. 

Over and Over Again. 

THE world has doubtless grown to be very 
learned and wise. It has attained a variety 
and amount of knowledge which becomes almost 
appalling when estimated by stupendous libra- 
ries, the accumulations of many centuries, and 
by the countless issues of the press representing 
the current increase of learning. But the world 
which knows so much is the vast aggregate of 
mind, a composite body existing in many differ- 
ent parts widely distributed. No one man is the 
repository of all this knowledge, or can hope in 
the longest life to obtain of it more than a very 
small modicum. Of course, the diligent student 
may acquire from books and lectures an outline 
of almost every branch ; but the mastery of de- 
tails he must leave to the specialist, or secure it 
for himself in some chosen specialty. 

Probably the actual difference in the amount 
of knowledge among men in civilized communi- 
ties is not so great as is commonly supposed. 
It is a difference of kind rather than of quantity. 



JO HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

The illiterate man, like some of the trappers and 
guides on our western frontier, ma}* nevertheless 
be in no mean sense a learned man ; and his 
rude learning ma}- be very necessary to supple- 
ment that of the scientific explorer. So it is in 
every department of life. The principle of com- 
pensation enters into the very warp and woof of 
society, Xo one is so learned that he may not 
learn something from every one he meets. In 
the most favored cases, more or less of ignor- 
ance may be fairly presumed ; and, while it is not 
disreputable if acknowledged, it properly leaves 
even* man in the attitude of a humble learner, 
with a great number of questions open to fur- 
ther inquiry. Even his favorite subjects may 
receive new light from the contributions of his 
neighbor, or from his own closer investigations. 

Such is the extent of knowledge to be at- 
tained, and so limited are the individual posses- 
sions, that very few questions can be regarded 
as absolutelv settled for all time. Even* thine: 
of vital interest is subject to frequent recurrence 
in the discussions of men, and is not in the least 
likely to share the fate of a fossil. 

Another fact in this endless round of inquiry 
has at first an aspect almost of sadness and dis- 
couragement. With all the stores of knowledge 
accumulated by incredible toil through the course 



OVER AND OVER AGAIN. 71 

of ages, every human being must begin at the 
beginning and go through the laborious process 
of learning, each for himself. 

The little fellow who came into the world 
yesterday morning at the house of our neighbor 
is of course a wonderful baby, as all babies are, 
but he is none the wiser for having his birth in 
this latter half of the nineteenth century. His 
delighted parents are intelligent Christians in 
comfortable circumstances, and will doubtless 
provide for their first-born the latest improve- 
ments in the paraphernalia of babyhood and, 
thenceforward, all the facilities of development 
belonging to this progressive age. The new- 
comer may some day become a bishop, or a 
president, or a railway king, or a famous philos- 
opher; but just now he is as ignorant as if he 
had been born before the flood. Whatever ad- 
vantages he may have over the antediluvian 
baby, it is certain that he has every thing yet to 
learn, — the use of eyes and hands and feet and 
all other parts of the body, and then the more 
complex and wonderful processes of the indwell- 
ing soul. It avails something that others have 
trodden the path before him, who may now lend 
a helping hand; but he must walk with his own 
feet, or not go at all. The alphabet and multi- 
plication-table are made ready for his advent — 



72 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

thanks to the learning of the past — but then he 
must learn them as all his progenitors have done. 
He enters upon the struggles of life with a sound 
constitution and the best of all inherited quali- 
ties; but he is not endowed by hereditary trans- 
mission with the whole stock of modern ideas. 
The world's learning must all be learned again. 
Its riches of thought can be acquired only by 
thinking. Its anxious questionings and strug- 
gles, defeats and triumphs, are to be repeated in 
this new life. 

So, for every one born of the race the prob- 
lem is continually renewed; and, whatever aids 
may be furnished, its solution is the ever recur- 
ring work of our world. "Over and over 
again," is the never-ending refrain of the song 
of the cradle. 

If it is over and over again with each new 
candidate for learning, it is so in some measure 
with the different periods of the same life. 
Memory often suffers a lapse, or becomes indis- 
tinct. Things once learned are buried away 
under the accumulations of years, like fossils 
hidden in the rock, and so to be of present use 
must be learned again. The philosopher who 
claimed to have forgotten more than his critic 
ever knew, seems to have understood the com- 
mon liability to loss of knowledge. Not that 



• OVER AND OVER AGAIN. 73 

every thing once learned may be lost, nor that 
any thing is forgotten altogether and absolutely, 
but that memory, in order to make its stores 
available, frequently requires the same thing over 
and over again. 

Besides, where there is no fault of memory, 
it often happens that questions once regarded as 
settled are found to change with advancing life. 
They will not remain settled; but, having still a 
hold upon life, they claim the benefit of the 
larger experience and the riper understanding. 
Their reconsideration under more favorable cir- 
cumstances is certainly a mark of wisdom ; and 
the person or the nation that refuses it, and 
insists upon treating any important question as 
dead and buried, is not only shut off from all 
safe progress, but is hopelessly moribund. In- 
deed, many of the so-called new questions, now 
set forth as the living issues of the day, are only 
old questions under new forms — fossils, or what 
seemed to be fossils, strangely brought to life 
again. Nor is it so strange, after all; for, as 
truth never dies, it has the power of perpetual 
reappearance, coming to every generation and 
every life, early and late, again and again. 

But perhaps the most significant fact of all is 
found in the nature and purpose of all truth. It 
is essentially practical. It has something to do 



74 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

with men as they actually exist in the world, 
and is intimately connected with all their inter- 
ests and labors. To meet its full design, it 
must not only be recognized and comprehended 
in the consideration of abstract questions, but 
also become incorporated with our very being 
and embodied in the whole round of human 
activities. 

"Is the sermon done?" one was asked, on 
returning early from church. 

"No," he replied; "it remains yet to be 
done." 

The most important questions are never ef- 
fectually settled until they are "well settled in 
life." Until they pass through the understand- 
ing into the affections and practice of all whom 
they concern, they fall short of their proper con- 
summation. But truth must not fail, and so it 
must be recurrent. 

For such reasons many questions, though old 
as the world, need to be kept continually before 
the people. They should be brought forward in 
the discussions of the pulpit and platform and 
press, until they shall be heartily accepted and 
reduced to practice by the last man of the race. 
But do hearers and readers demand something 
new and fresh? What is old to one may be new 
to another, even among well-informed adults ; 



OVER AND OVER AGAIN. 75 

and what is well known to adults is certain to 
have the charm of novelty to children. Must 
we have live questions? If, as is commonly un- 
derstood, they are questions suited to individual 
tastes and likings, they may be either good or 
bad, elevating or demoralizing. Corrupt tastes 
demand a corrupt literature, and find life in 
nothing else. But if live questions are such as 
relate to the real interests of human life in all its 
departments, then they are the practical and 
profitable, whether old or new, and are worthy 
of repetition until profit is realized in practice. 

Just such questions are as numerous and fre- 
quently recurring as the wants of human life. 
Contentment, for instance, will always need 
essays in words and deeds, because nine-tenths 
of the world have not yet learned the art, and 
it is well worth learning. The brevity of life is 
brought to mind at every death-bed and burial, 
but is as often forgotten in the whirl of business 
and pleasure. The supreme excellence of wis- 
dom and virtue will require eloquent vindication 
until men shall cease their follies and no longer 
give ear to the words of the devil. These and 
all other vital questions should indeed be treated 
with all the earnestness of real life, and with the 
directness and freshness of new occasions and 
applications; but they can not safely be con- 



j6 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

signed to the oblivion of obsolete books, or the 
burial of present neglect. 

Until the end of time, the whole work of 
teaching and learning must be done over and 
over again. 



IN REAL LIFE. JJ 



XL 

In Real Life. 

THAT is the very place where errors and 
evils have long prevailed, and have wrought 
their most disastrous results. From the begin- 
ning, the time when they were first believed, 
they have entered into the affairs, formed the 
characters, and controlled the lives and destinies 
of men. The truth has, therefore, a great mis- 
sion to accomplish. Unquestionably it has great 
power also, and is the only sufficient remedy for 
the world's evils. But in order to succeed it 
must be known and received by the mind, where 
its power may be felt. To secure such place is 
the object of the great struggle which has 
been going on with varying results through all 
the ages. 

Will the truth ultimately triumph? If so, it 
must be through the observance of certain indis- 
pensable conditions, and especially by the prac- 
tical adaptation of its methods. 

If we desire to know what that adaptation 
requires, we may learn something from opposing 



78 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

methods. Errors, lies, and wrongs have never 
yet refused the use of words, or been lacking in 
brazen effrontery in the verbal denial of the truth, 
but they seem to depend chiefly upon other more 
effective agencies. Having comparatively little 
to do with formal statements and remote abstrac- 
tions, they obtain possession of human beings, 
and thus come out in living forms with an un- 
limited power of propagation. 

Let evil be shut out from the sight of the 
world ; let it appear no longer in the associations 
and pleasures and business of men ; let it be 
confined to occasional discourses and writings as 
a matter mainly theoretical, and it would cer- 
tainly be far less formidable than now. But 
such banishment from real life it stoutly resists, 
for this is the fortress of its power. Under 
many a, fair disguise, and with specious insinua- 
tions, it continues to live in men and among 
men, making use of their passions, gaining 
strength with their growth, becoming established 
in their habits, appropriating to itself their pow- 
ers of mind and body, entering into their labors 
and recreations, spreading out with their influ- 
ence in society, and perhaps even claiming the 
credit of their virtues. In short, the great power 
of evil is the power of the living man in whom 
it has become incarnate. 



IN REAL LIFE. 79 

Such immense advantage in the contest can 
not safely be surrendered to the enemy. Truth 
must also appear in living forms, as a veritable 
incarnation, or fail of the mastery. It doubtless 
lias need of words in the sphere of words; but 
it must match force with force, deeds with 
deeds, and life with life. In every part of the 
field it must be visible, tangible, £n unquestion- 
able reality, a living and active force, its own 
irrefutable demonstration. But to have this 
power, it requires absolute possession of human 
beings. It must live in them and among them, 
move their hearts, form their characters, control 
their actions, and appropriate their entire influ- 
ence in all the relations and affairs of life. 

" 'T is a consummation most devoutly to be 
wished," for this reason, if for no other, that it 
brings truth • into the very field to be won,, and 
joins the issue with something like equal advan- 
tage. So long as error stands out in every place 
before the eyes of men, and propagates itself by 
all the agencies of real life, it is certain that 
truth must do the same, or remain comparatively 
unknown and powerless. 

But we are not indebted to the adversary for 
the suggestion of effective methods. If "the 
children of this world are wiser in their genera- 
tion than the children of light," it is the fault of 



80 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the latter, for they have the example and in- 
struction of Infinite Wisdom. God evidently 
never designed that his truth should go forth 
clad only in arbitrary symbols. The giving of 
the law was accompanied by the most impressive 
outward demonstrations of power and majesty 
and authority. Afterward, for many centuries, 
great truths were kept before the people in the 
significant furniture and ceremonies of the Tab- 
ernacle and Temple. Events also were made to 
speak with no uncertain sound, and with a force 
which men could feel. 

But still more was required. In order to be 
fully believed on in the world, "God was man- 
ifest in the flesh." "The Word was made 
flesh," and dwelt among men, that they might 
behold his glory, full of grace and truth. When 
he withdrew his body from the world he made 
ample provision for the emergency. "The 
Spirit of truth" was given to abide with and 
dwell in all who should receive him, — to be 
incarnate, not in one person or place only, but 
in multiplied millions throughout the world. 
This is God's provision for all time, the written 
Word and the living Church, — the latter a tran- 
script of the former in characters which can be 
read every-where and without spectacles. 

That this method of setting forth the truth 



IN REAL LIFE. 8 1 

has the authority of divine provision, is suffi- 
cient reason for its acceptance. But, besides, it 
is found to work well, not only because it meets 
a similar method on the part of evil, but because 
it is expressly adapted to the nature and condi- 
tion of men. 

" Seeing is believing." Nothing is so power- 
ful to convince as the logic of a loving life. Put 
the Christian graces into animated syllogisms 
clothed with flesh, and the conclusion has a force 
which the caviler can neither gainsay nor resist. 
Sermons without words may be preached every- 
where, and they are always eloquent and effect- 
ive. Human nature is such that it is attracted 
and interested and influenced by deeds more 
than by words, by facts more than by principles, 
by sympathy more than by argument. The 
space outside of churches is larger than inside ; 
the time of the week-days is longer than the 
Sabbath ; there is more light than sound, more 
seeing than hearing, in the world ; and the near- 
est point from which to reach men is the place 
where they live — the home circle and "all out- 
doors." The appointed method, of combining 
deeds with words, exactly suits the case, and 
covers the whole ground. 

Here, then, is the obvious duty of all Chris- 
tians, as they are scattered abroad throughout 

6 



82 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the world, namely, by the personal manifesta- 
tion of the truth as it is in Jesus, to make 
that truth omnipresent, and thus omnipotent in 
real life. 



THE CHRIST-LIFE. 83 



XII. 

The Christ-Life. 

OF late years, volume after volume has come 
from the press, and still they come, bear- 
ing each the title, "The Life of Christ." All 
of them — even those written by his enemies, 
like Strauss and Renan — serve the purpose of 
drawing attention to the facts of the wonderful 
life, and of leading to a more careful study of 
the simple and beautiful narratives of the Evan- 
gelists. Of course, only the latter have the 
authority of inspiration, and, as the testimony 
of eye-witnesses under divine direction, must 
ever remain the standard biography. 

But there- is another life of Christ, which is 
of far greater value and importance than any 
uninspired writings, and also is necessary to 
supplement the records of the Gospels. It is 
issued in separate editions, of a single volume 
each, but unlimited as to their possible number. 
It is bound in various sizes and styles; but is 
always essentially the same. It appears in many 
different languages, but needs no translation, and 



84 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

may be read with equal facility by all men, and 
in all the tongues of the earth. In fact, it is 
neither written nor printed, but actually repro- 
duced — the life of Christ as he still lives in his 
true disciples. 

This form of publication has immense advan- 
tages over every other — advantages peculiar to 
itself. It is not confined to library shelves, nor 
kept on parlor tables. It may be read by the 
aged without spectacles, and by the young with- 
out knowledge of letters. It requires for its 
perusal no scholarly leisure, no habits of study, 
no effort of any kind. Like the light on the 
candlestick, or the city set on a hill, or the 
flowers and the sunshine, it is seen and felt by 
virtue of its own presence and power. It is the 
life of Christ in human editions, going about in 
the home, on the street, in the market-place, 
every- where, speaking and working and known 
in the every-day life of the world. 

If the Church properly constitutes such an- 
animated circulating library, it is of the first im- 
portance that each volume be as complete and 
perfect as possible. The main question relates, 
not to the incidental matters of size and style, 
but to the genuineness of the life. Is it really 
the life of Christ, or of somebody else, and a 
mere auto-biography ? 



THE CHRIST-LIFE. 85 

"Many false prophets are gone out into the 
world." Self may bear a certain resemblance to 
Christ, and yet have a life altogether different 
from his. "And this is the spirit of Antichrist, 
whereof ye have heard that it should come ; and 
even now already is it in the world." "But Jesus 
Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for- 
ever;" the same now, in the believer, as in the 
boy of Nazareth and the man of Galilee. His 
life is always consistent with itself; and, though 
reproduced millions of times under infinitely 
varying circumstances, it never loses a single 
essential feature. 

How, then, shall it be secured, without omis- 
sions or interpolations, as the real life of Christ? 

The process which Paul describes in his own 
case is the only infallible process known. "I am 
crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not 
I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which 
I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the 
Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself 
for me." This is the plain statement of a matter 
of fact, concerning which- it was clearly impossi- 
ble for such a man to make any mistake. Be- 
sides, it was amply verified by all the details of 
his personal history. 

But it was as a Christian, and not by virtue 
of his apostolic office, that Paul was able to 



86 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

make this declaration ; it would have been all the 
same had he, by divine appointment, remained 
only a tent-maker. So he taught, as an apostle, 
all who were not apostles, referring ever to the 
common experience as a well-known fact, and as 
beinsf absolutely essential to Christian character. 
"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified 
with Christ, that the body of sin might be de- 
stroved, that henceforth we should not serve 
sin." "Know ve not vour own selves, how that 
Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" 

The first step in the process of receiving the 
life of Christ is a crucifixion, or death ; and this 
is in no respect figurative or mystical, but, quite 
to the contrary, plain and real, most desirable 
and necessary. Every man has at some time 
been conscious of a double self, or of a part of 
himself which is distinctly evil, and which may 
properly be called "the old man," "the body 
of sin." In every case this self eminently de- 
serves the fate of the malefactors who were cru- 
cified with Christ ; it needs to be destroyed, to 
be utterly dead and buried. 

Then, after this death of the old man, comes 
the resurrection of the new man. Saul, the per- 
secutor, becomes Paul, the Christian. The wrong 
and false self dies, and gives place to Christ ; 
while the true and right self receives, with 



THE CHRIST-LIFE. 87 

Christ, the fullness of life. "I am crucified — 
nevertheless I live." I live — not I who am cru- 
cified, but I in whom Christ lives. 

A happy and glorious change is this, involv- 
ing no loss of the proper selfhood, but, rather, 
an infinite gain. The double self of the old 
regimen is dissolved, and a new alliance is 
formed, with Christ as undisputed head. For 
the base and treacherous partner — once so con- 
trolling in the composite selfhood, but now 
retired by death — Christ himself is substituted, 
and is invested with supreme and rightful con- 
trol. It is the death of what was only evil, 
making way for the engrafted life which is of 
God and heaven, the true and the eternal. 
With this change comes a wonderful release, 
new liberty and power and happiness. It must 
be the very state for which man was created, so 
well does it harmonize with his constitution and 
meet all the demands of his being. Now, 
through Christ dwelling in the soul, God and 
man are joined together in joyful fellowship ; and 
this to the creature must be an infinite boon. It 
is paradise restored, the heart itself a very Eden, 
the divine life perpetually manifest in the flesh. 

This internal transformation, by death for 
life, is the beginning of the consummation of 
the wondrous scheme of God's love for man's 



88 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

redemption. The only-begotten Son came into 
the world, that he might come into the world's 
heart. He died upon the cross, that all sin 
might be crucified with him. He arose from 
the dead, that he might raise all souls from spir- 
itual death, and all bodies from the slumbers of 
the grave, to be reunited in a glorious immor- 
tality. And now he lives to die no more, that 
he may be the present and everlasting life of all 
who receive him into themselves. To such as 
thus receive him are fulfilled the wonderful words 
of his prayer to the Father: "The glory which 
thou gavest me I have given them; ... I in 
them and thou in me, that they may be made 
perfect in one, and that the world ma}' believe 
that thou hast sent me." 

So this is the conclusive evidence of Christ's 
coming into the world; and surely it is the 
crowning qiorv of humanity, to be in union 
with God bv the indwelling Christ, — a crlorv for 
which we may well surrender in crucifixion the 
life of the rebellious and sordid self. 

But does all this seem to be vague, mvstical, 
and unreal? So it is, and so it ever must be, 
when expressed only in words. For this very 
reason words need to be translated into facts. 
The historic Gospels must be issued in living 
copies, and take their place among the substantial 



THE CHRIST-LIFE. 89 

realities of the day — the highest of them all. 
The life of Christ must appear as an actual life 
in man, according to the provision made for 
every age and generation, for every country and 
neighborhood and household and person. Then, 
while it is still mysterious like all other life, it 
has- the power of self-attestation like any other 
present fact. 

Nothing is more real than the crucifixion of 
self, when it is actually proceeding or completed. 
Nothing can be better known than the substitu- 
tion of the Christly for the selfish, when it is 
once fully accomplished. Nothing can be more 
practical ; for it changes the very springs of all 
action, furnishing motives of transcendent power. 
Nothing can be more practicable; for God him- 
self seeks it by all the agencies of his grace, 
awaiting only our consent and co-operation. 
Nothing can produce such grand and glorious 
results; for it determines both character and 
destiny, securing the highest interests of time 
and eternity. In short, nothing else ever put in 
words, or dimly idealized by the mind, needs so 
much to become a well-defined and palpable fact 
in every human being, as the real life of Clirist. 



go HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XIII. 

Tests of the Life. 

IS it possible for Christ really to live in man? 
Perhaps the answer brought forward in the 
last chapter may be regarded as sufficient ; but a 
far better answer is the fact itself. Nothing has 
such power of producing conviction as a present 
fact; and this, where it is once recognized, sets 
the question of possibility forever at rest. 

But such a fact as this life of Christ can not 
remain unrecognized. Whether it can be com- 
prehended or not, it is so clearly attested to per- 
sonal consciousness, and manifested to general 
observation, that it may be critically collated 
with the character revealed in the Gospels, and 
its correspondence or identity accurately deter- 
mined. If the Christian himself — Christian be- 
cause Christ is in him — neglects such verification, 
the world around him is not slow to institute 
the comparison, and to pass judgment accord- 
ing*. Paul's statement, ''Christ liveth in me," 
was never called in question by those who knew 
his manner of life ; nor can it be, in any other 



TESTS OF THE LIFE. 9 1 

case, where it is the real fact. Here, as in every- 
thing else, "seeing is believing;" and therefore 
the main objective point is to insure the fact. 

But if the life of Christ can be actually repro- 
duced in man only according to the apostolic 
formula heretofore considered — that is, by the 
process of crucifixion and substitution — that 
process needs to be very closely watched. Hav- 
ing been commenced, of course it should be 
completed and maintained in its completeness. 
From beginning to end it should be so conducted 
as to avoid all possible mistakes and failures. 
When the biography of Christ is about to be 
published in mere words, the simple process of 
the types requires diligent attention and skill, 
frequent proofs, revisions, and corrections. So, 
when it takes the higher form of actual life in 
human editions, the more elaborate and difficult 
process can not be successful without the utmost 
care. It needs to be thoroughly tested at every 
point, in the natural and necessary order declared 
by the apostle: "I am crucified with Christ; nev- 
ertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in 
me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I 
live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved 
me and gave himself for me." 

As the whole matter is strictly personal, so 
let the question be brought directly home. Has 



g2 HAJ F HOUR STUDIES OF 1 111". 

41 the old man" been effectually crucified, or 
only suspended from the cross? [s "the body 
of sin" destroyed, or simply disabled? 

The malefactors who wore crucified with 
Christ survived him, nor did they die until their 

3 wore broken. Mow long the evil self may 
continue to live in a state of partial crucifixion, 
obviously can not be decided under physical 
law. li seems in many cases to have remarka- 
ble power o\ endurance, or else the torture oi 
the cross is in some way greatly alleviated. Long 
after the nails may be supposed to have been 
driven, signs of the old life appear, and perhaps 
the thief responds to the taunt, "Save thyself, 
and come down from the cross!" 

Here is evidently the critical point, — the pos- 
sibility and danger of arresting the work. An 
attempted crucifixion is not enough ; it must go 
forward to its proper consummation. To be 
really crucified with Christ is also to die with 
him, and with him to be buried. The destruc- 
tion o\ sin is to be as complete and effectual as 
the death of the Redeemer from sin. Any fail- 
tire at this stage o( the process is transferred in 
effect to all the rest, and makes the whole im- 
perfect The death of sin precedes and prepares 
the way for the life o\ righteousness. "There- 
fore we are buried with him, . . . that like as 



TESTS OF THE LTFE. 93 

Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory 
of the Father, even sc we also should walk in 
newness of life. For if we have been planted 
together in the likeness of his death, we shall 
be also in the likeness of his resurrection." 
" Xow if we be dead w r ith Christ, we believe that 
we shall also live with him." "For in that he 
died he died unto sin once; but in that he liv- 
eth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye 
also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Of course, this reckoning is not to be con- 
jectural, but according to the accomplished fact; 
and the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrec- 
tion are to be consecutive and real events, in 
order to be followed by the fullness of life. 

Whether the process has actually taken place, 
or how far and thoroughly it has been carried 
on, must be ascertained from the evidence fur- 
nished by the facts; and, as in other cases, the. 
evidence may be drawn out by suitable ques- 
tions — questions simple enough to be answered 
by a child. Let a few of them be taken as tes 
applicable under all circumstances. 

Is it your supreme desire to please God? It 
was Christ's, undoubtedly, and will be yours if 
he lives in you. Supposing the desire to exist, 
is it really supreme? Then it overrules all other 



94 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

desires, and is practically sufficient in resisting 
temptations, overcoming evil, bearing burdens, 
and performing all work. 

Have you a hearty relish for the means of 
grace, and a genuine, habitual delight in all that 
proceeds from God? It must be so if Jesus 
Christ is in you, for nothing was more prominent 
in his personal history. 

Are you conscious of a deep-seated repug- 
nance to sin, an instinctive shrinking from every 
thing wrong or of doubtful character? And is 
sin so abhorrent to you by its very nature, and 
not merely because of its penalties? Such 
sensitiveness is an essential element of the 
true life. 

Have you a strong and unflagging personal 
interest in the work of the Gospel, the salvation 
of men, the extension and establishment of the 
kingdom of God? Christ certainly never loses 
interest in his own work ; and what he came 
from heaven and died upon the cross to accom- 
plish is most assuredly the predominant aim of 
his life in you. 

And, with all the rest, have you conscious 
communion and intercourse with him, as with 
an intimate personal friend? If he is really in 
you, he is nearer than any human being can be, 
and fully commands your love and confidence, 



TESTS OF THE LIFE. 95 

which he as fully reciprocates. The fact is in 
perfect accord with the promise, "He that lov- 
eth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will 
love him, and will manifest myself to him." 

In a matter of so much importance, obscurity 
and doubt should not be allowed the least toler- 
ation ; and, to make assurance doubly sure, the 
utmost impartiality and faithfulness should be 
exercised in applying these and all other tests 
of the life. 



96 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XIV. 

Arrested Growth. 

WHAT is growth? It always signifies in- 
in some respect, in quantity or 
quality, in size, number, strength, or something 
else properly belonging to its subject. It is of 
two kinds — mechanical and vital. With the 
former, the increase is from without, by an ex- 
ternal accretion of parts, as when a building 

i to grow. With the latter, the inc: 
evolved from within, by a pr which con- 

stitutes f the wonderful phenomena of that 

mvsterious thincr called life. Thus, all vegetables 
and animals grow from the seed, or germ, " by 
the gradual assimilation of new matter into the 
g organism." This is the more strict and 
ordinary acceptation of the term, true growth 
always implying the presence of life. 

But life is not limited to matter, however 
fearfully and wonderfully organized. Its highest 
form, in the creature, belongs to mind made in 
the image of the Creator. Whether this life be 



ARRESTED GROWTH. 97 

merely intellectual, and thus imperfect, or both 
intellectual and moral, as in the fullness of spirit- 
ual life, it is appropriately manifested by growth. 

Here the increase is just as real, of its kind, 
as in any physical organization; but it has this 
most important difference, that it is not restricted 
to any definite limits. All material bodies en- 
dowed with life have their natural periods of 
growth, maturity, and decay; but the soul which 
is alive unto God need never be arrested in its 
career of development. Its growth, like its life, 
may be eternal. 

There are certain liabilities, however, which 
are not to be overlooked, and concerning which 
the analogies of other living forms are both 
striking and instructive. In all cases alike, the 
vital process of growth is exposed to the danger 
of interruption. 

Vegetation is often checked, and sometimes 
destroyed, by a sudden change of temperature 
from heat to cold, by extreme drought, flooding 
rains, and numerous other agencies. Plants 
which thrive in the tropics would perish farther 
north ; and even those which endure the rigors 
of Arctic regions attain only a stunted growth. 
In our Lord's Parable of the Sower, the seed 
which fell into stony places sprang up, but soon 
withered away, because "it had no deepness of 

7 



98 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

earth;" while that which fell among- thorns was 
choked, and "brought no fruit to perfection." 

If such a fate were not generally averted by 
the arts of the husbandman, and especially by 
the merciful arrangements of Providence, it is 
very certain that the earth would soon cease to 
be a fit habitation for human beings. The un- 
timely arrest of all vegetable growth, which is 
only a supposable contingency, would be the 
failure of the harvest, and the famine of the 
world. Surely, the most remote liability to so 
terrible a disaster is quite enough to contemplate. 

Dwarfs are occasionally found among animals 
also. From some cause or other, their natural 
development has been arrested prematurely; they 
cease to grow, not by virtue of constitutional 
limitation, but through some interference with 
the vital process, some violation of organic law. 
Perhaps in early years toil has been excessive, 
and nutriment insufficient; or disease may have 
retarded the due performance of necessary func- 
tions. If such specimens are comparatively rare 
and exceptional, it is probably for the reason 
that the causes of arrested growth are, in most 
cases, sufficient to destroy life, and thus relieve 
the world of the painful spectacle. 

But, unhappily, dead or dwarfed souls every- 
where abound; for their calamity does not effect 



ARRESTED GROWTH. 99 

their extinction ; they still exist in living bodies. 
Physical laws are often wantonly violated, but 
are much better observed, on the whole, than 
the higher laws of the realm of mind. If the 
disregard of the latter were confined to the 
reasoning faculties, or to any other exercise of 
mere intellect, it would not be so disastrous and 
deplorable; but it is carried into the whole moral 
nature, and sunders all vital spiritual relations 
with God, the only Fountain of Life. 

Such is the actual state of multitudes, who 
are declared by the Scriptures to be "dead in 
trespasses and sins." They are destitute of true 
spiritual life, except in its dormant and unpro- 
ductive germs, and are therefore incapable of 
true spiritual growth until quickened by power 
from on high — a power which they may receive 
by voluntarily coming to the Light. 

Even those who have been thus quickened 
may, and often do, so neglect the conditions of 
their new life as either to sink again into spiritual 
death, or else to continue in the abnormal state 
of perpetual infancy. Although weak as babes 
at the first, they are capable of unlimited growth 
by the use of means which are fully at their dis- 
posal; but, failing in this, they remain without 
strength or usefulness as Christians, and if they 
live at all it is only as spiritual dwarfs. 



IOO HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE; 

Such were "many of the early converts to 
Christianity. In the case of those who had been 
brought from the ignorance and corruptions of 
paganism, the evil admitted of some palliation ; 
but it always occasioned the deepest solicitude 
on the part of the apostles, who labored dili- 
gently for its correction, "warning every man, 
and teaching every man in all wisdom, that they 
might present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." 
But even the Hebrew Christians were open to 
censure, not that they had made compromises 
with heathen customs, but had failed of proper 
spiritual growth. "When for the time ye ought 
to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you 
again which be the first principles of the oracles 
of God, and are become such as have need of 
milk, and not of strong meat ; for every one that 
useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteous- 
ness, for he is a babe." 

The very constitution of the Church had one 
chief object for its members, that they "all come 
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge 
of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the 
measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 
and that they be no more children, tossed to 
and fro, and carried about by every wind of 
doctrine." The accomplishment of this object 
was a matter of such great importance that it 



ARRESTED GROWTH. IOI 

received the special and unremitting attention 
of the apostles. The liabilities to failure were 
guarded against by all possible means, and failure 
itself was deprecated as a most serious calamity. 

Now, the infancy of the Church has passed 
away, and given place to a growth of vast pro- 
portions. But is this true also of the average 
Christian life? As compared with the whole 
number of the Church, how many have reached 
a strong and symmetrical Christian manhood, 
and become thoroughly competent as Christian 
teachers in the family, the Sunday-school, and 
elsewhere? What is the proportion of those who 
are even aiming at such a development, and 
steadily advancing toward it? 

If we are not of the number, we may be sure 
that it is by our own fault. There is somewhere 
a neglect or wrong, which, with suitable effort, 
we may ascertain and correct. Nothing is more 
certain than that spiritual dwarfs are voluntarily 
self-constituted. So complete and available are 
all the provisions which God has made for the 
Christian life, that we may effectually resist the 
causes and escape the evils of arrested growth. 



102 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XV. 

Food and Growth. 

IN every perfect grain of wheat is inclosed a 
minute and delicate germ, which is thus pro- 
tected from injury, and preserved for the use of 
the sower. This germ is endowed with vitality, 
and may be said to contain potentially the roots, 
the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear, 
of the future harvest. Like faith, it "is the 
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of 
things not seen." 

But in order to attain its possibilities, and 
fulfill the promise of the harvest, the germ must 
grow; and in order to grow it demands certain 
well-known conditions. Its latent life must first 
be stimulated into activity by warmth, and then 
duly supplied with food. These conditions are 
met when it falls into good ground, warmed by 
sunshine and watered by rain from heaven. 
Then as the germ, quickened by the heat of the 
sun, makes its first call for food, the substance of 
the enveloping grain is decomposed by moisture, 
and affords the first and necessary supply. 



FOOD AND GROWTH. 103 

By the nutriment thus obtained — near at 
hand and in suitable form — the germ, which has 
now become the plant, begins to grow, not up- 
ward, but downward, deeper into the ground. 
The first thing in its growth is to provide for a 
fullness of growth by insuring an abundance of 
food, the initial supply from the dissolving 
kernel being soon exhausted. So the roots are 
developed and sent out as feeders, to draw sup- 
port from the fertile soil. Afterward, when the 
upward growth begins, and through its whole 
course, these organs of supply continue their 
growth and activity beneath the surface, and are 
aided by the co-operation of the leaves, as cor- 
responding organs in the air above. 

Thus, at every point, food and growth are 
coincident. The supply of the one and the con- 
tinuance of the other are mutually necessary, 
are carried on together, and are specially pro- 
vided for in the organization of the plant. 

In the more complex constitution of animals, 
especially those of the highest type, similar pro- 
visions are found. Life, at first, seems to con- 
sist principally in feeding and growing. Food, 
as the chief requisite from first to last, is pro- 
vided and made available in a form and manner 
suited to each successive stage of growth. The 
simple diet of infancy serves its purpose, and 



104 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

then gives place to the more ample and varied 
diet of youth and maturity; and, as the demand 
for food increases, so also does the ability to 
procure and use it. 

The organs which directly or indirectly min- 
ister to growth by nutrition hold by far the most 
important place in the body. These are the 
hidden and "uncomely parts" mentioned by the 
apostle, upon which "we bestow more abundant 
honor," because they are the vital, and thus the 
more necessary, parts. While other members, 
like the eyes, the hands, and the feet, are simply 
useful, the stomach and all the organs of nutri- 
tion are absolutely indispensable. They come 
into action at the very beginning of life, and 
continue their functions to its close. As the 
special agents of sustenance to the whole body, 
they grow with its growth and strengthen with 
its strength. When they have secured fullness 
of stature, they still serve the purpose of repair- 
ing the natural waste of the system, and main- 
tain the necessary vigor, unabated, through 
many years. 

Cut off the regular supply of suitable food, 
or let the organs of digestion and assimilation 
remain undeveloped, or become in any way im- 
paired so as not to perform their office, and the 
results may be readily anticipated; all growth 



FOOD AND GROWTH. 105 

is at once arrested, and life itself soon comes to 
an end. 

Is not all this equally true of the human 
mind — true in a far higher and more important 
sense than of vegetables and animals? 

Mind differs essentially from matter, from the 
most perfect organizations of matter, but it is 
subject to similar laws of growth. At the be- 
ginning it shares the state of the body, and seems 
to be even more feeble, for its very existence 
can scarcely be recognized. All its faculties are 
mere germs, which inclose infinite possibilities 
indeed, but require favorable conditions for their 
development. 

What is the exact process of quickening, nu- 
trition, and growth, in its earliest stages, no one 
can tell, for no one can remember; and whether 
at first it more closely resembles that of the 
vegetable or of the animal it is difficult to say. 
but the results appear in due time. To some 
extent, the requisite conditions are ordinarily 
furnished in the genial influences of the well- 
ordered home. If, however, the early influences 
are unfavorable, more or less of the capacities 
of the soul will remain dormant, or attain at the 
best only a stunted growth. 

In every case food adapted to the mind is 
indispensable; and this food is useful knowledge 



106 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

in all its varieties. To the infant mind it must 
be brought and presented in its simplest ele- 
ments, and in such a manner as to be eagerly 
received, comprehended, and retained. It may 
be only as milk, but it gradually imparts the 
abilitv and creates the demand for a stronger diet. 

In course of time the several senses, as so 
many feeders, or avenues of knowledge to the 
mind, acquire a range and power adequate to an 
abundant supply of food, and the more they 
receive the more competent they become. Curi- 
osity, or mental appetite, grows by that upon 
which it feeds; and when properly developed it 
affords a constant stimulus to effort. 

But the most important of all in the constitu- 
tion of mind is the faculty, or group of faculties, 
by which knowledge is held, analyzed, digested, 
and appropriated to the mental growth. Imag- 
ination, memory, comparison, judgment, are im- 
mediately concerned in the vital process, and 
should be able to carry it on with promptness 
and efficiency. To train them in such exercise 
of their functions is one great object of educa- 
tion ; and this is accomplished, in part at least, 
by supplying them with a large variety of rich 
and nutritious mental aliment. Thus they in- 
crease in power, like the vital organs of plants 
and animals, and become able to minister con- 



FOOD AND GROWTH. 107 

stantly to the general development and vigor of 
the mind. 

But there is a still higher life, in which our 
lesson has its chief and special significance. 

The soul never finds its true place, or enters 
upon a course of entirely right and symmetrical 
development, until it is quickened by divine 
power and is endowed with divine life. At the 
beginning of this life there is the same feeble- 
ness which we have discovered elsewhere, and 
the same need of serving a simple and nutritious 
food, even if it be merely to sustain a present 
life. But this is only the initial stage, and is not 
by any means to be accepted as a permanent 
state. The newly quickened or imparted spirit- 
ual faculties, in their early weakness, conform to 
the general analogy; and now the great problem 
to be wrought out is their speedy, healthful, and 
vigorous growth. 

One most important factor in this problem, as 
every body can see, is food adapted to the actual 
stage of growth. So the Apostle Peter exhorts 
all who occupy the state of infancy: "As new- 
born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, 
that ye may grow thereby, if so be ye have 
tasted that the Lord is gracious." Paul says, 
"Every one that useth milk is unskillful in the 
word of righteousness, for he is a babe." Of 



108 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

those to whom he wrote, some seem to have 
relapsed into this state, or one resembling it : 
"For ye are become such as have need of milk, 
and not of strong meat." For this reason he 
reproved them, and yet taught them again "the 
first principles of the oracles of God." There 
were many things which they could not receive, 
and he could not teach to them, because "strong 
meat belongeth to them that are of full age." 
The twelve disciples of our Lord failed at first to 
comprehend no small part of his teachings which 
afterward became their richest food. 

So it is, without doubt, in the experience of 
all true Christians. They are able to mark dis- 
tinctly the difference in this respect between one 
point and another in their progress ; indeed, their 
growth is indicated by a growing relish for the 
truth as it is in Jesus, and an increasing power 
of spiritual discernment. The simplest elements 
of the Word, when 'received "with all readiness 
of mind," so strengthen and enlarge the mental 
and spiritual capacity that other truths can be 
received, which in their turn educe a growth 
demanding yet larger supplies ; and thus the 
process may be continued through an endless 
series of feeding and growing. 



WORK AND GROWTH. IO9 



XVI. 

Work and Growth. 

THE lilies of the field "toil not, neither do 
they spin;" but they work, nevertheless. 
From the period of germination until their des- 
tiny is fulfilled they are in constant activity, 
taking up nutriment from the soil and drinking 
in the moisture and sunshine of heaven. It is 
true, they act only upon the materials brought 
within their range, and their activity may be 
retarded or accelerated by influences of the 
weather, over which they have no control ; but 
still it is activity none the less from being under 
prescribed limitations. They work, not passively, 
as a bucket is filled at the spring, not by simply 
receiving what is forced upon them, but by the 
orderly operation of an inherent vital power. 
They select, receive, and use whatever they need 
and can obtain; they work by the motions of 
an inscrutable life; and the one purpose of all 
this work is consummated growth. 

The birds of the air "sow not, neither do 
they gather into barns ;" but they do the work 



I 10 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

assigned them under divine supervision and 
care, making the most diligent use of all their 
powers. To obtain their necessary food, they 
have the range of the whole storehouse of 
nature, of air, land, and water. They begin 
their search at the break of dav, continue it 
with brief intervals for the service of song, and 
rest only under cover of darkness. If provisions 
fall short in the place of their habitation, they 
pass on rapid wing to other climes, there to go 
through the same round of happy activity. To 
supply the w r ants of the young while in their 
callow state, the parent birds are required to put 
forth extraordinary exertions ; but soon the 
fledgelings become able to shift for themselves, 
and in due time return the service to broods of 
their own. Their w r ork is doubtless graduated 
to their ability; but it is also enforced by neces- 
sity, prompted by instinct, and made to con- 
tribute to the promotion of their growth and 
the accomplishment of their destiny. 

So it is with every living thing throughout 
creation, in the realms both of matter and of 
mind. Action everywhere seems to be a natural 
and necessary expression of life, the spontaneous 
putting forth of vital force. It has the narrow- 
est limits in the lowest forms of life, as in the 
lilies, but takes a wider scope at each successive 



WORK AND GROWTH. 1 1 1 

step in the rising scale, until it reaches the 
greatest breadth in man, who has the highest 
endowments of life and the largest capabilities 
of action. 

In the first instance, that of the lilies, the 
operation of vital force, or of what we have 
called work, is confined to the process of nutri- 
tion; it seems to be the effort of life to secure 
support and growth by suitable food. This pri- 
mary purpose of work becomes greatly extended, 
but is never lost, in the highest forms of life. 
Man must exert his physical, mental, and moral 
powers in supplying the necessary food for his 
physical, mental, and moral growth, and then 
use that growth for purposes reaching beyond 
himself. In short, he must work for a living, 
that he may work for something more than 
a living. 

Now we come to the kind of work which is 
most valuable in promoting growth. It is work 
without anxiety and distrust, like that of the 
lilies and the birds. It is work with the love 
of work, the spontaneous outgushing of exu- 
berant life, the bursting forth of an irrepressible 
vital force. 

Such work is happily illustrated in the case 
of the healthy, growing child. How full of life 
and activity! A strong man, attempting to go 



112 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

through with the same motions for a day, would 
find it equivalent to his severest labor. Why? 
Because it would be unnatural and constrained. 
Put the same child to enforced labor, as a task 
or a penalty; take away the joyousness, spon- 
taneity, and freedom of action, — and at once the 
case is entirely changed. 

But can the man do his own proper work as 
the child plays? Why not? The child's play 
is the child's work. Why may not the man's 
work be only the free and happy play of all his 
powers ? Is not this the lesson our Savior drew 
from the lilies and the birds? We have a Pro- 
vider too, a Father who is more to us than to 
the flowers of the field — more than any human 
parent can be to the child. When this is 
heartily believed, it puts us immediately into 
right relations to our life work, and makes us 
children again in the happy outflow of all our 
activities. 

The fact is, working merely for a living is the 
poorest possible way of getting a living, or of 
doing any thing besides. ''The life is more than 
meat, and the body than raiment." God gives us 
life, physical, mental, and moral ; assures us of his 
faithful superintendence and care over the whole; 
and then, in infinite wisdom, appoints to every 
one of us his work. That work can be properly 



WORK AND GROWTH. II3 

done only with the faith and love of little chil- 
dren, as the free expression of the life that is in 
us; in which case it infallibly promotes growth, 
and secures the objects of growth. 

Let these conditions be observed in our spir- 
itual life as Christians, and we have the secret 
of all true progress and real usefulness. 

Does God provide for the lilies and care for 
the birds? And has he still greater interest in 
the higher physical life of human beings, so that, 
in case we do our simple duty, we may feel ab- 
solutely confident of unfailing supplies? How 
much more, then, in that highest life, by which 
we are brought into intelligent and conscious 
fellowship with himself? Surely for this life, 
above every other, he has constant care, effective 
superintendence, and all the marvelous riches of 
his love and grace. Thus he leaves us as free 
as the child to the spontaneous expression of 
our life in Christian work. 

The first thing, of course, is feeding, with 
the sharpened appetite of abundant vitality and 
healthful exercise. And what food is set before 
us! Who can tell the -rich variety and ample 
store of spiritual viands — the "water springing 
up into everlasting life;" "the sincere milk of 
the Word;" the divine testimonies, ".sweeter 
than honey and the honey-comb;" ''the living 

8 



114 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

bread which came down from heaven, and giveth 
life unto the world;" even more than angels' 
food, "for my flesh is meat indeed, and my 
blood is drink indeed." Again and again may 
we return to the feast; for there "are given unto 
us exceedingly great and precious promises, that 
by these we might be partakers of the divine 
nature" What has the child of God to do but 
to take his daily bread, and then go forth as a 
child to work ? 

To receive such food, we say, is the primary 
demand and condition of growth; but it is not 
the only demand. Exercise comes between 
food and growth. So a large field of activity is 
opened before the Christian, where his hearty 
and joyful work invariably renews appetite, 
invigorates digestion, and fixes the nourishment 
already received as so much consolidated growth ; 
while at the same time it serves the additional 
purpose of usefulness to others. 

Let him entirely withdraw from the field, or 
occupy it in any other spirit, and he violates the 
fundamental conditions of healthy growth. If 
he eats without working, or receives without 
using, he becomes sickly and feeble, like the 
pampered child or the gluttonous man. If he 
goes to the performance of duty as an exacted 
drudgery, his work is without the animation of 



WORK AND GROWTH. 1 1 5 

life, and brings only weariness and exhaustion. 
If he devotes attention chiefly to his own spirit- 
ual life, anxiously watching every process and 
marking every symptom, as though that life de- 
pended solely upon himself, and might per- 
chance be lost if he were to forget it for a mo- 
ment, then it is certain he will have very little 
else to do, very little growth to mark, very little 
life to lose. 

Let it not be forgotten, then, that spiritual 
life is God's gift, and his special care; that it has 
an object beyond itself, which it clearly indicates 
by its promptings to useful activity; and that in 
such activity we have the safe and happy solu- 
tion of all questions concerning the proper rela- 
tions of food, work, and growth. 



Il6 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XVII. 

Warmth and Growth. 

A GRAIN of wheat deposited in the folds of 
a mummy, and laid away in an Egyptian 
tomb for thousands of years, still remains a 
grain of wheat — having a kind of latent life, but 
no growth. Take it and bury it deep in, the 
cold ground, and it perishes; or cover it near 
the surface, where the Autumn sunshine falls and 
the heats of Summer linger, and immediately it 
germinates, sending the roots downward and the 
blade upward, until its growth is arrested by the 
cold of Winter. With the first warm breath of 
Spring it renews the work, and is carried rapidly 
forward, under the increasing heat, to the full 
corn in the ear, producing thirty, sixty, or an 
hundred fold. 

The lilies of the field exceed in their apparel 
all the glory of Solomon, only because they have 
been fostered by warmth and clothed with the 
splendor of the sun. 

If the birds of the air follow in their journeys 
the course of the seasons, it is always in the 



WARMTH AND GROWTH. W] 

line of approaching and receding heat. During 
the genial months they gather food and rear 
their young, and then depart to perfect their 
growth in sunnier climes. 

When the beasts and creeping things of the 
earth have retired to Winter-quarters they rease 
to grow, and scarcely live, until they are revived 
and called forth from their seclusion by the 
warmth of the returning sun. 

Upon man himself the effect of extreme cold 
is to benumb, stupefy, and repress all the func- 
tions of life. The only antidote, among the 
Esquimaux and other stunted inhabitants of the 
frigid zones, is found in the protection of furs 
and the abundant use of heat-producing food. 
The opposite effects of heat and cold upon hu- 
man life are less observable in our temperate 
climate, simply because the extremes are not so 
great, and the arts of civilization create perpetual 
Summer in our homes; but even here, in order 
to comfort and growth, some substitute must be 
found for the diminishing heat of the sun. 

Thus, through the whole range of physical 
life, Summer is the natural period of growth, 
and Winter, of rest ; and the only exceptions 
arise from special provisions of organization, or 
artificial modifications of temperature. 

Animals are less than vegetables subject to 



Il8 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

change with the seasons, because they are con- 
stituted with special provisions against such 
change. Especially is this true of the more 
highly organized, and of man more than others. 
His life is of such an order as to require the 
utmost possible independence of the unfavorable 
conditions of climate and weather. So, while 
his mind is endowed with ability to command 
the aid of art in maintaining his defense against 
cold, his body is furnished with the most perfect 
heat-producing apparatus. 

The oxygen of the atmosphere, which sup- 
ports combustion in our furnaces and grates, 
renders the same service in our lungs. Here 
food takes the place of fuel. After undergoing 
digestion in the stomach, it imparts to the blood 
certain qualities, from which, by the access of 
air in the lungs, heat is generated; which then 
is distributed by circulation through the arteries 
to the whole body. This heat has a higher rate 
than that of Summer — ninety -eight degrees 
Fahrenheit — and is maintained with little or no 
variation throughout the year. It is so abun- 
dant, with sufficient food and exercise, as to be 
able for a time to resist the most intense cold ; 
and it keeps the body warm and glowing where 
a piece of detached flesh would be speedily 
frozen. As the walls of our dwellings inclose, 



WARMTH AND GROWTH. II9 

retain, and economize the heat produced within; 
so our clothing serves the same purpose for 
animal heat, preventing its dissipation from the 
surface, and equalizing the rate in every part of 
the body. 

With such defenses against cold, and such 
means of generating and conserving heat, man 
is in himself a kind of organized Summer, a 
physical condensation of the tropics, where 
every organ is supplied with the conditions of a 
luxuriant growth. 

But all this heat of our dwellings and our 
bodies is not, in strictness of speech, produced, 
but derived. It was drawn originally from the 
sunshine, by the growth of those things which 
ultimately become fuel and food. It has been 
mysteriously "locked up," and carefully pre- 
served in wood and coal, in fruit and grain, or 
else transferred to the growth of animals whose 
flesh becomes food; and so it remains until lib- 
erated by the rapid combustion of the furnace, 
or the slower process of the lungs. Our food 
has nutritive properties which minister to growth, 
but they are no more necessary than the heat- 
imparting qualities which it receives as heat in 
its own growth. Thus the sun, as the primary 
source of heat, shares directly or indirectly with 
the earth and air in the support of all physical 



120 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

life and growth — directly by its own rays, indi- 
rectly by fuel and food. 

A full explanation of the actual and necessary 
connection between warmth and growth may be 
impossible; but it is certainly a most significant 
fact that heat is essentially nothing more nor less 
than physical force. It is not matter, but that 
which communicates motion to matter. It is 
not life, but it becomes the auxiliary of life. In 
one form it is heat ; in another, growth ; in a 
third, motion; and in every form it is either 
actual or possible power. The same agent, or 
secondary cause, which breaks the slumbers of 
Winter, evokes the life of Spring, sustains the 
growth of Summer, and matures the fruit of 
Autumn, appears only in another form when it 
lifts up the clouds and careers in the storm, or 
when it -^submits to be harnessed to machinery, 
and furnishes motion to drive our workshops, 
locomotives, and steamships. In every case it 
is the agent of God, the medium of his opera- 
tion, "the hiding of his power;" and the heat 
necessary to physical development is only his 
chosen way of communicating a needed force. 

Are not all these facts suggestive of yet higher 
and grander truths? 

Life is found in connection with matter; but 
it is not matter, for matter may be without life. 



WARMTH AND GROWTH. 121 

Life is found in connection with mind; but it is 
not mind, for even mind may be without its 
proper life. Physical life is not spiritual life — 
the latter being of a far higher order; but both 
alike are of the operation of God. In the one 
case that operation accords with the nature of 
matter; in the other, with the entirely distinct 
and pre-eminent nature of mind; but, as the 
operation of God in both cases, it presents strik- 
ing coincidences in respect to the several condi- 
tions of life and growth. The analogy includes 
not only food and work, which w 7 e have consid- 
ered heretofore, but also warmth — in respect to 
which it is no less complete and instructive. 

Men may bury the germs of moral life in the 
folds of a dead faith, or cover them up to perish 
in the depths of worldliness, and never reap the 
ripened harvest. They may seek the hiding- 
places of slumbering indifference, or surround 
themselves with a moral atmosphere like an 
Arctic night, and so barely survive or miserably 
perish. Or they may become so dependent 
upon external influences as to suffer the discom- 
fort of chills or the arrest of growth and activity 
by every unfavorable change of moral climate. 
But all these things are of their own choosing. 

Povisions for securing vital warmth for the 
soul are even more perfect and available than 



122 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

for the body; for they depend, not upon seasons 
and latitudes, but solely upon individual accept- 
ance. In the darkest night or the bleakest 
Winter of moral surroundings, they may be had 
in abundance by every trusting soul. 

J J o 

God's love is infinite in measure, and is com- 
municated without conditions of time or place : 
and this love is spiritual heat, in the broadest 
extent of the analogy. It is revealed from 
heaven only through Jesus Christ as "the Sim 
of righteousness," in whose rays are combined 
both the light of knowledge and the warmth of 
love. It is also conserved in the written Word, 
and is thus received indirectly as the heat-im- 
parting quality of the soul's daily food. 

Proceeding from Christ, who is still as really 
present in our world as is the sun which shines 
in the cloudless sky; taken up from the stores 
of the Word, which is the life-giving bread; and 
imparted by the agency of the Holy Spirit, 
whose influence is as pervading as the vital 
air — this love is the power of God in man for all 
the functions of spiritual life, as force in work 
and as warmth in growth. 



CULTURE AND GROWTH. 1 23 



XVIII. 

Culture and Growth. 

11 A ND the Lord God planted a garden east- 
-^J^ ward in Eden, and there he put the man 
whom he had formed. And out of the ground 
made the Lord God to grow every tree that is 
pleasant to the sight and good for food." Was 
the man put there simply to look upon the 
beauty and eat the food? "And the Lord God 
took the man, and put him into the garden of 
Eden to dress it and to keep it." 

But why this dressing and keeping? The 
garden was already planted, and growing. Be- 
sides, in that happy dawn of horticulture under 
divine auspices, there were no troublesome thorns 
and thistles to dispute possession of the soil. 
These came afterward, when the ground was 
cursed, and were found only outside of Eden. 
So the plants of the garden seem to have been 
supplied with the chief conditions of a beautiful 
and useful growth. They had abundant food, 
vital activity, and invigorating warmth. What 
more could they require ? Simply, culture. 



124 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Mere growth, however luxuriant, was not enough. 
For the best results they needed in their growth — 
as did the man himself — wise and kindly over- 
sight, direction and discipline. 

If culture was necessary to such plants then 
and there, how much more after the change of 
situation, and now, when thorns and thistles 
have multiplied for many centuries and quite 
preoccupied the soil? In this greater necessity, 
imposing additional toil, consists the very burden 
of the primal curse. To produce bread, culture 
now must begin back beyond the planting, by 
breaking up the ground and removing its natural 
preoccupants ; and so it must continue, with 
more or less of difficulty, until the gathering of 
the harvest home. 

When "a sower went forth to sow," his suc- 
cess was not a question of chance, but of previ- 
ous labor. The seed was all the same, and the 
process of sowing was the same; but the results 
were in four distinct parts, according to the 
preparation bestowed upon the ground. In the 
first, the surface had not been broken at all; in 
the second, the subsoil had not been reached ; 
in the third, briers and thorns were still in pos- 
session ; and only in the fourth were found the 
well-arranged preliminaries of a healthful growth. 

But the culture which precedes growth must 



CULTURE AND GROWTH. 125 

also -attend it. Beginning with the soil, it must 
go forward with the growth of the plants, and 
be adapted to their diversified wants. 

The difference in beauty and fruitfulness be- 
tween the common glebe of nature and our well- 
kept fields and gardens is only a difference of 
tillage, answering the question, what shall grow, 
and how it shall grow? Under the hand of 
skillful training, the flowers put on new beauties 
of form and color; the various fruits acquire 
a finer flavor and a larger growth-; the cereals, 
which scarcely had a place before, are produced 
in rich abundance and variety; and the common 
earth gives intimation of another Eden yet to 
be. In every case the excellence of growth, if 
not the growth itself, depends upon the fact and 
quality of culture. 

The culture by which such results are wrought 
is a part of the dominion which has been granted 
to man over subordinate life. It is a kind of 
inferior human providence, serving the functions 
of life, rather than performing them. It is not 
a condition of growth, like food, vital action, 
and warmth; but it consists in the intelligent 
management of all these conditions, so as to 
secure the best growth. 

Such administrative aid is of the greatest ne- 
cessity to plants, because they have the narrowest 



126 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

range of power. The grain of wheat must grow 
where it falls, if it grow at all; and, though it 
may struggle to succeed, it can not supply the 
lack of favorable conditions. Here comes in the 
aid of man, with the service of culture, making 
all requisite provisions for a fruitful growth, and 
to a great extent controlling the issue. Animals 
also, though endowed with greater power of self- 
help, derive similar advantages from the intelli- 
gent direction of their propagation and growth ; 
and by skillful management, in course of time 
some of them attain a degree of perfection, a 
combination of superior qualities, known as 
" thorough-bred.' ' 

But, in the case of both plants and animals, 
it is only the wisely regulated use of means 
divinely provided which constitutes culture. The 
power to do this belongs to man by virtue of 
his superior intelligence; and the exercise of 
such power obviously fulfills the divine inten- 
tion, affords variety to human employments, and 
meets certain demands of growth in all infe- 
rior life. 

But a much higher field of culture, and even 
a better garden than Eden, is found in man 
himself. So much greater also arc the obliga- 
tions, necessities, and benefits of cultivation ; 
and these increase with each successive grade in 



CULTURE AND GROWTH. 1 27 

the ascending series of departments — the phys- 
ical, mental, and moral. 

Here, in fact, is the only garden now remain- 
ing, which "the Lord God planted eastward in 
Eden," and into which he has put every human 
being "to dress it and to keep it." Like the 
earth, it has indeed been blighted by the curse, 
preoccupied and overrun by an evil growth ; but 
it may be renewed by the more abundant bless- 
ing, and become the place where may be ' ' heard 
the voice of the Lord God walking in the cool 
of the day." Here, then, is the scene of para- 
dise restored, and the sphere of man's highest 
work ; and to this work earth and heaven are 
tributary, with the very richest provisions of the 
wisdom and love of God. 

The proper culture of the body begins with 
infancy, and is carried on through life. It regu- 
lates food, work, and warmth, so as to secure 
growth, not only in size, but in symmetry, 
strength, skill, and whatever else may be neces- 
sary to physical perfection and efficiency. Hav- 
ing in view the various purposes which the body 
is required to serve as the instrument of the soul, 
it seeks to bring every organ into the best possi- 
ble condition for such service. It guards against 
intemperance, indolence, and all evil habits, and 
thus avoids weakness, disease, and deformity. 



128 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

During infancy this culture is, of course, 
simply received through the intelligent care of 
parents; but it soon becomes the personal work 
of the growing child, and must be learned as one 
of the great arts of life. From first to last it 
consists in dressing and keeping the body, not 
in the sense of the fashion-plate, but according 
to the laws and provisions of God; and without 
it there is no really serviceable growth. It is 
easy to see that, if an infant were suddenly to 
attain the stature of an adult, in all but stature 
it would be an infant still. If it be supposed to 
have strength as well as size, even then it would 
be unable to walk, or talk, or do any thing ordi- 
narily acquired by culture, and at the best would 
be only a monster babe. It is for the very pur- 
pose of needed preparation for the duties of ma- 
turity that opportunity of culture is afforded by 
the long period of natural growth — this culture 
beginning with growth, and growth taking the 
direction and variety of culture. 

The necessary culture of the soul, though 
taking an infinitely higher rank, is strikingly 
analogous in both its purpose and its process. 

Beginning with the dawn of intelligence, it 
becomes the great work of probation, with spe- 
cial reference to our usefulness in the present 
life, and our well-being in the future state. It 



CULTURE AND GROWTH. 129 

comprehends all the faculties, intellectual and 
moral, actual and possible ; and of course it pre- 
supposes the divine endowment of spiritual life, 
without which intellectual development is only 
mental distortion. The required growth is in all 
useful knowledge and strength, but especially in 
the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who is the one great and perfect model 
of the family of human souls. To be like him 
is the aim of all true mental and spiritual culture. 
For the complete success of this work nothing 
is wanting. The planting and the increase, with 
the necessary food and exercise and warmth, 
may be secured with even greater certainty than 
in any inferior culture ; while explicit directions 
are given in the Word, and ample opportunities 
are furnished in the ordinary discipline of life. 
But it remains for us to use the means provided, 
and, by special care, vigilance, and faithfulness, 
to secure for the soul the joint benefits of culture 
and growth. 

9 



130 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XIX. 

Growth and Fruit. 

THE blade and the ear are of little use with- 
out the full corn in the ear. The sower 
going forth to sow always expects an increase in 
kind — sometimes thirty, sixty, or an hundred- 
fold ; and this is his recompense. The soil may 
be fertile, the plants vigorous, the season favor- 
able, the culture sufficient, and the growth luxu- 
riant; but they have all been in vain unless 
bread comes with the harvest. 

"A certain man had a fig-tree planted in his 
vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, 
and found none." When he had done this for 
three years in succession, finding no fruit what- 
ever, was it strange that he said to the dresser 
of his vineyard, "Cut it down; why cumbereth 
it the ground?" The only plea for sparing the 
tree yet another year was founded on the hope 
that, with more nutriment and further culture it 
would bear fruit. "And if not, then after that 
thou shalt cut it down." 

Such is the universal verdict in the case. 



GROWTH AND FRUIT. 131 

Cultivated growth, whatever may be said of 
other kinds, must produce some adequate result, 
or in due time be abandoned and destroyed. 
So also the growth which is natural and sponta- 
neous must support its claim to place by the 
value of its fruit; otherwise it deserves to be cut 
down or uprooted, like the briers and thorns. 

The lesson so generally recognized in ordi- 
nary business is carried by the Great Teacher 
into the highest forms of culture and growth. 
When he speaks of himself as the true vine and 
his Father as the husbandman, he adds, "Every 
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh 
away; and every branch that beareth fruit he 
purgeth [or pruneth] that it may bring forth 
more fruit. " The branch must have growth, 
but only as a means to an end. Indeed, the 
required growth is not so much of the branch 
itself as of the fruit; and, lest the former should 
appropriate what belongs to the latter, the gar- 
dener resorts to the process of pruning. 

From first to last, every provision of both 
divine and human agency has in view only such 
growth as is productive. Rich and abundant 
fruit is the ultimate purpose, the legitimate ex- 
pectation, and the decisive test. "Herein is my 
Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; so 
shall ye be my disciples." 



132 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

"Nothing but leaves" was found upon a 
certain fig-tree, when our Lord came to it in his 
hunger, on the way from Bethany to Jerusa- 
lem. He "found nothing thereon but leaves 
only" — not even growing figs nor buds of fruit; 
and so he pronounced the sentence under which 
it withered away and dried up from the roots. 

This barren fig-tree stands in the matchless 
object-lessons of the Master, as an admonitory 
example of uncompleted growth. Leaves are 
not merely ornamental, but are an essential part 
of the tree. They are the praying organs, if we 
may call them so, which seek and receive from 
the all-comprising air the very elements of life 
and growth. But what is thus received should 
appear again in fruit; otherwise the growth is 
only in parts, and without its proper consumma- 
tion. The tree was designed to subserve an end 
beyond itself, and never fulfilled that design, nor 
gave the slightest promise of fulfillment. It was 
fair to look upon, and attracted attention from a 
distance; but it yielded no service, and therefore 
was condemned. 

Did the disciples ever again think of that 
tree and its lesson ? Could they fail afterward 
to see in it something more than proof of mirac- 
ulous power? Who can tell what influence ft 
may have had as a lesson of service through all 



GROWTH AND FRUIT. 1 33 

their subsequent lives? As Christian men they 
were certainly conspicuous, not merely by the 
fair aspect of Christian character, but by the 
most abundant and useful labors. They not 
only maintained a vigorous spiritual life and 
growth, but were able to render to their Lord 
the ripened results in words and works, which 
still enrich the world. By some means they had 
made the grand discovery that they were not to 
live for themselves in spiritual luxury, but to 
"spend and be spent" for others, in actual toil, 
sacrifice, and suffering, even unto death. Thus 
were they fruitful in the products of an efficient 
and stalwart Christian manhood. 

Is there a greater lesson, or one more needed 
by the Church and the Christian, in these days 
of favor and prosperity? 

Because the number of disciples has been 
greatly multiplied, is there less need of individ- 
ual fruitfulness? Has not the demand increased 
in the ratio of the supply? And is not the tend- 
ency to bear "nothing but leaves" even greater 
now than in the olden times of persecution ? 
Then nothing but genuine fruit would pay the 
cost of culture; but now, in the changed circum- 
stances of the Church, there is danger of taking 
in lieu of such fruit mere numbers, magnitude, 
and display. 



134 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Even* Christian also is exposed to the fatal 
mistake of regarding the end of growth as con- 
sisting in attainments, enjoyments, and the repu- 
tation of superior sanctity, rather than in self- 
forgetful and unostentatious usefulness. It is not 
impossible for the prevailing luxury of the age 
to infect the great bod}' of the Church, and for 
self-indulgence to find a place in Christian expe- 
rience, under the specious guise of extraordinary 
religious emotions. Certainly one device of 
Satan, as he takes the form of an angel of light, 
is to induce Christians, if possible, to fix their 
attention solely upon themselves — their various 
exercises of mind, phases of emotional experi- 
ence, and comparative attainments in piety — to 
the utter neglect of the plain every-day duties, 
the small sweet courtesies and unpretentious 
labors of true discipleship. If the device suc- 
ceeds, in such case whatever there may be of 
growth is wholly introverted and self-absorbed ; 
for it yields no service, produces no fruit for the 
common good — has ''nothing but leaves." 

But the law of the kingdom remains from the 
be<jinnin£f- unchanged. Love is no selfish senti- 

ft ft ft 

ment ; and faith without works is dead. All the 
graces of the Holy Spirit, as incorporated in the 
Christian life, are thoroughly practical in their 
legitimate outgrowth ; and the only warrant of 



GROWTH AND FRUIT. 1 35 

continued possession is productive use. It is the 
highest form and application of a law which is 
common to the whole empire of God, and which 
was only incidentally illustrated by the fate of 
the, unfruitful fig-tree. Mutual service is the 
great and universal bond by which "the king- 
doms are but one;" for it forms the union of 
plants, animals, and men — of earth and heaven. 
In this vast community of life, of which God 
himself is the center and fountain, service is 
required of every part, from the lowest to the 
highest, according to the ability bestowed; and 
the part which yields no fruit deserves, and ulti- 
mately has, no place. 

As the spiritual life is the chief department 
in this scheme of service, and is distinguished 
by the richest provisions and gifts of God, its 
productiveness becomes a matter of infinite mo- 
ment. Here, especially, may be expected the 
largest returns in all good works, or the inevita- 
ble doom pronounced upon barrenness. In 
short, every interest of the soul, for time and 
eternity, is involved in this personal and prac- 
tical question of growth and fruit. 



136 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XX. 

Sundry Facts of Growth. 

THERE is no possible growth without life; 
for, as we have seen heretofore, growth is 
essentially a process of life, and as such sustains 
intimate relations to food, work, warmth, cul- 
ture, and fruit. In every case the process im- 
plies the actual presence and operation of certain 
mysterious vital forces, whether in the plant, 
animal, or human soul. No man, therefore, can 
grow as a Christian until he is "born again," or 
receives life as a Christian. 

There is no substitute for growth. Whether 
the beginning be large or small, the full con- 
summation can be reached only by gradual 
increase, according to established conditions. 
But, as a matter of fact, the beginning is always 
comparatively small. Since the morning of cre- 
ation, this has been the settled order of life in 
all things material and spiritual. Even the God- 
man was born as the babe of Bethlehem : and 
in Nazareth "the child grew and waxed strong 
in spirit." "Jesus increased in wisdom and 



SUNDRY FACTS OF GROWTH. 1 37 

stature, and in favor with God and man." "Ye 
must be born again," is not more imperative than 
"Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. " In no other way can any Chris- 
tian ever attain "unto the measure of the stature 
of the fullness of Christ." 

This growth is of God through the ministra- 
tion of life, "seeing he giveth to all life, breath, 
and all things;" "for in him we live, and move, 
and have our being," and by necessary connec- 
tion also our growth. Human agency is no 
more able to impart life and growth than to per- 
form the work of creation. For all vital increase, 
whether physical or spiritual, we are absolutely 
dependent upon the continual presence and 
power of God. "So then neither is he that 
planteth any thing, neither he that watereth ; 
but God, that giveth the increase." Spiritual 
growth is therefore not to be disparaged, as if it 
were an invention of man, or a substitute for the 
work of the Holy Spirit. 

But human agency is concerned in the process 
by the use of the means provided. Had not 
Paul planted and Apollos watered, God had not 
given the increase. If we are "God's hus- 
bandry," we are also "laborers together with 
God" in the work of husbandry ; it being our part 
both to receive and to use under his directions. 



138 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

This part is ordinarily well understood and per- 
formed in the inferior branches of culture. Can 
as much be said for the infinitely higher depart- 
ment? Are our souls as diligently cared for as 
our bodies, or even as our flocks and herds, 
fields and gardens ? Such care would be far more 
surely and uniformly remunerative ; but is it 
not frequently neglected on the assumption that 
spiritual growth in some way takes care of itself? 
No assumption could be more unwarranted or 
disastrous ; for in nothing is it so necessary that 
we give all diligence to the performance of our 
allotted part. Here occurs the great mistake 
which accounts for nearly all the apparent fee- 
bleness, imperfection, and failure in Christian 
life. It is a truth of universal application which 
is announced in the proverb, "He that will not 
plow by reason of the cold shall beg in harvest, 
and have nothing." Spiritual growth is accom- 
plished only by divine power, but never also 
without human concurrence. 

There are striking differences of growth, which 
are variously determined. Jonah's gourd came 
up in a night, and perished as soon. Such 
growth was not a fault, but simply a fact ; the 
gourd fulfilled its purpose. The mammoth trees 
of California have been growing for more than a 
thousand years, and are growing still. In nature 



SUNDRY FACTS OF GROWTH. 139 

and design they are quite unlike the gourd at 
Nineveh. Of the less extraordinary plants, 
some come to maturity in a single season, others 
in two or more, and others only after many 
years. A similar diversity appears among ani- 
mals, ranging all the way from the ephemera, or 
insects of an hour, to the human body, with 
its protracted period of childhood and youth. 
These differences relate to the quality of growth, 
the rate of the process, the time occupied, and 
the degree ultimately attained. They arise in 
part from variety of circumstances and treatment, 
but chiefly from peculiarities of constitution. 

The plant and the animal have little power 
of selection, and are dependent upon the condi- 
tions in which they are respectively placed. 
The soul, however, is so far the agent of its 
own growth as to have almost entire control of 
the matter. Endowed with a natural capability 
of unlimited spiritual increase, and provided 
with means the most abundant and available, 
the Christian need never be subject to restric- 
tions of time and place. His growth may be 
rapid, substantial, and continuous from the be- 
ginning; and if it be otherwise he has only him- 
self to blame. We know of no limitations of 
any kind, except such as are self-imposed. Cer- 
tainly, the approach to maturity or effective 



140 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

strength is not fixed and bounded by a definite 
term of either years or months. Is it not 
strange, then, that so many suffer frequent inter- 
ruption of growth, or grow so slowly that they 
never seem to emerge from a state of compara- 
tive infancy? Is it generally understood that 
the differences in this respect, among Christians, 
are determined solely by their own action in 
the premises? 

The particular means to be employed have 
been already considered at length, under the 
topics of Food, Work, Warmth, and Culture. 
They may be expressed, however, in more gen- 
eral terms as receiving and using. This double 
and reciprocal action comprises the whole of 
human agency in the process of spiritual growth ; 
but it must be constantly maintained in both 
parts from the beginning of life. To receive 
nourishment and warmth only at long intervals — 
as, for instance, on one day in the week — is to 
decline, and ultimately to perish. Leaving un- 
used any of the gifts received, has the same 
effect by cutting off further supplies. "For 
unto every one that hath shall be given, and he 
shall have abundance; but from him that hath 
not shall be taken away even that which he 
hath." The problem is simply to maintain an 
abundant and vigorous life ; and this is done by 



SUNDRY FACTS OF GROWTH. 141 

faith alone, for "the just shall live by faith." 
But faith has these two special functions of 
receiving in habitual meditation and prayer, and 
then of diligently using in all good works. Let 
faith have its perfect work — let it be implicit, 
comprehensive, continuous, the very habit of the 
soul — -and it infallibly secures such vitality as 
renders growth inevitable. What can be more 
simple and practicable than this ? Surely it is 
quite within the power of every # Christian who 
really desires to grow. 

But growth always corresponds in nature and 
character to the life of which it is the process 
and product. It consists in expansion or in- 
crease, not only by virtue of an indwelling life, 
but in all the specific qualities and powers 
belonging to such life. Spiritual growth, there- 
fore, may be clearly defined and easily tested ; 
for Christ is the only true life of the soul. It is 
simply to increase more and more in whatever is 
like Christ, to "grow up into him in all things." 
This implies the inward existence and vital activ- 
ity of all the distinctive graces of the Lord Jesus, 
or his actual dwelling in the soul. These graces 
are in kind unmistakable; for "Jesus Christ is 
the same yesterday, to-day, and forever" — the 
same now in the hearts of believers as when in 
his own body he went about doing good. 



142 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXL 

The Question of Greatness. 

WHEN the twelve disciples, on their way 
to Capernaum, "disputed between them- 
selves who should be the greatest/' they doubt- 
less thought of official rank, and coveted its 
dignity and power. If their Lord was about to 
establish a kingdom somewhat after the manner 
of men, but with far greater glory — and this was 
then their expectation — they of course, as his 
chosen disciples, would be distinguished above 
all others of his subjects. But "which of them" 
should have the first and highest place, the 
position of primate* in this kingdom? 

This was the question which gave rise among 
them to no little reasoning and strife. On the 
occasion referred to, when Jesus inquired of 
them concerning the subject of their dispute, 
"they held their peace," as if ashamed of their 
contention; but afterward, encouraged by his 
manner, they submitted the matter to him under 
the general question, "Who is the greatest in 
the kingdom of heaven?" Though the answer 



THE QUESTION OF GREATNESS. 143 

was clear and explicit, such was their persistent 
misapprehension of it, under the influence of 
selfish ambition, that at a subsequent period 
James and John, supported by their mother, 
made formal application for the two chief places 
of honor. u And when the ten heard it, they 
were moved with indignation against the two 
brethren," not because of the manifest impro- 
priety of the request, but because each desired 
the elevated position for himself. Their jealousy 
was rebuked, and perhaps soothed, by the words 
of Jesus ; but the strife was renewed on other 
occasions, even to the time of their last inter- 
view on the evening of the betrayal. 

How very human, how much after the way 
of the world and its ideas of greatness, was all 
this rivalry and debate! But was it Christ-like? 
Was it according to the spirit and laws of the 
new kingdom about to be established on earth? 
Did the disciples ever come to a clear knowledge 
and a hearty acceptance of the truth? And why 
were they at first, and for so long a time, so dull 
of comprehension ? 

Nothing could be more direct and definite, 
more tender and touching, than the lessons with 
which they were favored from the Teacher of 
teachers and the Prince of peace. 

First, a little child • was set before them ; 



144 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

coming with apparent docility at the call of the 
'Master, and standing there in humble trustful- 
ness, free from all turbulent passions, a striking 
contrast to these men of ambitious strife. What 
words of meekness and love accompanied, ex- 
plained, and applied the symbol! "Whosoever 
shall humble himself as this little child, the 
same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 
1 ' Whosoever shall receive one of such children 
in my name receiveth me." "He that is least 
among you all, the same shall be great." 

This was only the primary lesson. Could 
they receive it in its simple and most obvious 
import? Were these strong, full-grown men 
really required to become like this little child — 
without conscious artifice in self-seeking, with no 
thought of relative superiority, and no desire to 
exercise lordship over others? This was strange 
teaching, quite as new and strange to the world 
as the Great Teacher himself; but were they not 
his disciples, and therefore ready to learn of him? 
Ready in attitude, without doubt, but slow of 
heart and dull of understanding. 

The next lesson was given when Salome 
sought for her sons the post of honor at the 
right hand and the left of him who was soon to 
be crucified. Little did she think or know of 
what was to come to pass at Jerusalem, or how 



THE QUESTION OF GREATNESS. 1 45 

the places mentioned would then be occupied. 
Neither she nor the disciples had the remotest 
idea of being crucified with Christ; but a crisis 
in affairs was evidently near at hand, and now 
was the time to secure the coveted appointment. 
Now also was the Master's opportunity to repeat 
the former lesson with an important addition. 
To be great was not only to be meek and lowly 
in heart, but also to be serviceable in life. The 
feeling of the child was to find expression in 
the labor of the servant. "He that is greatest 
among you, let him be as the younger ; and he 
that is chief, as he that doth serve. " "Who- 
soever of you will be the chiefest, shall be serv- 
ant of all." 

Such was the law of the kingdom. It re- 
versed all human precedents, and established an 
entirely new standard of honor. Its fundamental 
principle was not lordship for the gratification 
of one, but service for the benefit of all. The 
human passion for exercising authority must, 
therefore, be practically superseded by divine 
ambition for the largest usefulness. "For even 
the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, 
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for 
many." As the greatest service was reserved 
for the Sovereign himself, so the nearest ap- 
proach to him in similar service determined the 



146 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

highest rank in his kingdom. Could the disci- 
ples accept the test? Did they even grasp the 
idea so novel, so at variance with the tendencies 
of human nature and the course of the world ? 
They had seen the proofs of sovereign power in 
their Lord, and its subjection to the welfare of 
men, but had they discerned the spirit and mo- 
tives of its service? 

But the wonderful life was not to close until 
its greatest lesson had been repeated once again, 
and by a practical rendering never to be forgot- 
ten. The time, place, and manner were well 
chosen. According to the customs of men, the 
table had its petty distinctions of place and occa- 
sions of jealousy. And so it was even among 
the disciples of Christ, and at the last Passover. 
With gentle words he subdued their strife, and 
cited his own customary work: "For who is 
greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that 
serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But 
I am among you as he that serveth." This, 
however, was only the introduction. He ate the 
Feast of the Passover with them, spoke of his 
betrayal by one of their number, and instituted 
a perpetual memorial of his impending death. 
Then, in immediate connection with this farewell 
service, when every heart was touched with ten- 
derest sympathy, he who aforetime had com- 



THE QUESTION OF GREATNESS. 147 

manded the winds and the waves, and revoked 
the doom of the grave, took upon himself the 
office of the humblest menial, and washed his 
disciples' feet. 

So deeply impressive a scene could never be 
effaced from their memory. 

Here the lesson on emulation and compara- 
tive greatness reached its utmost limit ; mere 
teaching could go no further. Was it effectual? 
Probably not, to the full extent, until the day 
of Pentecost. Then was received the Spirit of 
truth, of humility, of self-sacrificing service — the 
very quality of greatness. The ascended Christ 
reappeared in the hearts and lives of his fol- 
lowers, and purified them unto himself, "a 
peculiar people, zealous of good works," and 
seeking no other distinction. Disciples then 
became Christians, reducing to practice the les- 
sons of the Gospel, contending no longer for 
place, "in honor preferring one another." 

And so through all the ages the bright suc- 
cession runs, a living rebuke of selfishness, and 
a practical answer to the question of greatness. 



148 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXII. 

"One is Your Master." 

ONLY one, and he is Christ. Jesus is his 
proper name, given for its significance at 
his birth ; and all other titles are official and 
descriptive. 

The Savior is Sovereign, too — the Messiah 
long foretold, the Christ of God. "Ye call me 
Master and Lord; and ye say well, for so I am." 
And so he continues to be with all true disci- 
ples. To receive him as Savior is to accept him 
as Master. He is the Savior because he is Christ 
the Lord ; and he saves only those who serve. 
If the one distinction belongs to him alone, so 
also does the other — to him alone. "There is 
none other name under heaven given among 
men whereby we must be saved ;" but that name 
is "above every name, that at the name of Jesus 
every knee should bow in heaven and in earth, 
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
Power to pardon is authority to command ; and 
absolute submission is actual salvation. He who 



"ONE IS YOUR MASTER." 149 

died to redeem now lives to reign, "and he 
died for all, that they who live should not 
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him 
who died for them and rose again." 

Does he not justly claim the sole service of 
the saved? Surely they can understand him 
when he says to them, " One is your Master." 

Because he is the one Lord, all they are alike 
servants. They may be apostles, or prophets, 
or teachers, or workers of miracles ; they may 
have gifts of healing, helping, governing, or 
interpreting — but all are fellow -servants and 
brethren. Distinction of office is not difference 
of service. Whatever may be the diversity of 
gifts, operations, and administrations, they are 
under one Head, and for the common benefit. 
If a servant is invested with authority it is only 
as a servant, and never as a lord over God's 
heritage. In every case, the greater the power 
possessed the more rigid is its subjection to 
account, and the more abundant are the labors 
required. If any one station may be considered 
the highest it is simply because it subserves the 
largest interests. 

The invidious distinctions invented by human 
selfishness and pride are here utterly abolished ; 
and the only real superiority is found not in 
title, rank, or age, but in excellence of spirit 



150 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

and in faithfulness to appointed work. "Ye 
younger, submit yourselves unto the elder; yea, 
all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed 
with humility." "Neither be ye called master; 
for one is your Master, even Christ ; and all ye 
are brethren." 

This sole and supreme Headship of Christ is 
something more than a formal provision of gov- 
ernment, or a mere matter of law and preroga- 
tive ; it is actual, operative, and efficient in the 
full measure of all demands. To his real serv- 
ants in every time and place he gives the assur- 
ance, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world." 

Is this true in fact? Do we heartily and 
steadily believe it, know it, to be real? Are all 
our labors consciously performed beneath his 
eye, at his bidding, with his guidance and help, 
and as much so as if he were outwardly visible? 
Present he is, without doubt ; but does he stand 
revealed to the inward sight, and recognized in 
the actual exercise of his prerogatives? Amid 
all the complications of human influences and 
agencies, is he seen in his true character and 
office, ever living and acting in the fullness of 
his power as our own and only Master? 

So it may be, if we are not merely nominal 
servants. "He that hath mv commandments 



"ONE IS YOUR MASTER." 151 

and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and 
he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, 
and I will love him, and will manifest myself to 
him." This personal manifestation of Christ is 
to be a real event, a matter of fact ; and of 
course it can take place only through the con- 
scious recognition of the soul when the promise 
is fulfilled. Then he is seen and known as the 
unfailingly true and faithful One, who has all 
power in heaven and in earth, and who is there- 
fore able to execute his will in every particular, 
despite the mistakes and errors of subordinate 
agencies. If there be first, on our part, entire 
and unqualified subjection to him, then, in very 
fact, through all the details of our service, and 
with all the perfections of his nature, Christ is 
our Master. 

Let this be fully assured as an accomplished 
personal fact — Christ my Master — and little else 
is needed for the encouragement of the servant 
or the interests of the service. It stands forth 
as the grandest reality of life, full of significance 
and bright with infinite blessing. To be in all 
things subject to such a Master is a joy beyond 
measure. To render faithful service to him, 
whose love has reached so far and wrought so 
much, is the highest privilege of the grateful 
heart. tl He loved me and gave himself for me." 



152 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

What, then, can I do for him? He himself 
answers the question by receiving as his servants 
all who give him the heart, and assigning to 
every one of them, even to the least, some kind 
and place of labor. 

Does the work which we have done seem too 
small for his notice? He measures it by the 
love from which it proceeds. 

Is our well-meant service imperfect, like 
every thing human? As the best we can render, 
he accepts it without upbraiding. 

Is it performed in obscure places, under diffi- 
culties, and with little or no human encourage- 
ment? The Master knows it all, and appreciates 
it all; for it is service rendered to him. 

Is not this enough? Can there be a nobler 
or a mightier inspiration for the labors of earth ? 
Love at work for Christ rises superior to infir- 
mities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and 
distresses ; for it has the fellowship of angels and 
the joy of heaven. In every field of labor, and 
through all the scenes of time, it looks with un- 
sealed sight upon the invisible, and is satisfied 
in hearing near at hand the well-known voice, 
' i One is your Master. 



A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. 1 53 



XXIII. 

A Remarkable Experience. 

KNEW a man in Christ above fourteen 
J- years ago — whether in the body I can not 
tell, or whether out of the body I can not tell, 
God knoweth, — such a one caught up to the 
third heaven. And I knew such a man — whether 
in the body or out of the body I can not tell, 
God knoweth, — how that he was caught up into 
paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it 
is not lawful for a man to utter. " 

So a man of unquestioned veracity, and every 
way competent as a witness, once said in a letter 
to his friends in Corinth. Modestly he omits 
the ego, for he himself was the one who entered 
heaven and heard the unspeakable words. He 
vouches for the fact, but attempts no explana- 
tion; "whether in the body or out of the body 
I can not tell, God knoweth." Concerning the 
things which he there saw and heard he is 
entirely silent — quite unlike some modern pre- 
tenders — for the words really heard "it is not 
lawful for a man to utter." He does not even 



154 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

mention the matter until after the lapse of 
fourteen years and never refers to it again. He 
doubtless derived great personal encouragement 
from this remarkable experience ; but as it was 
exceptional, and could be of little use to others 
except through its influence upon himself, he 
closes his brief and indirect statement of the 
fact with these words : ' ' But now I forbear, lest 
any man should think of me above that which 
he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me." 

There was another experience, however, 
scarcely less remarkable, of which the modest 
apostle might speak more freely ; for it savored 
less of self, and came within the rancre of com- 
mon Christian privilege. "I take pleasure in 
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in per- 
secutions, in distresses for Christ's sake ; for 
when I am weak then am I strong." 

What these infirmities were can not be deter- 
mined with exactness; but it is certain that they 
were ''given" to him without fault or wrong on 
his part, and that they involved more or less of 
weakness and suffering as a means of spiritual 
discipline. He had not sought them, and he 
sincerely desired and • prayed that they might 
depart from him ; but, in view of the end to be 
subserved according to the will of God, he was 
able to rejoice. "Most gladly therefore will I 



A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. 1 55 

rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of 
Christ may rest upon me." 

Besides bodily infirmities, he suffered also 
reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and dis- 
tresses. These were of no ordinary character, 
as appears from his own account of them in the 
same letter. 

As the reproaches were undeserved, they 
brought no feeling of self-condemnation ; and 
yet they were painful, as being unmistakable 
indications of a spirit of injustice in those who 
used them, and of determined hostility to his 
work. Or, did these reproaches come from 
brethren, laboring under the misapprehensions 
occasioned by ignorance and misrepresentations? 
They were none the less painful; for he earnestly 
desired the sympathy and co-operation of his 
brethren above all others, and was not indifferent 
to the good opinion and confidence of even the 
least among them. Though he was an apostle, 
specially qualified for his great work and entirely 
devoted to it, he was grandly human in having a 
heart full of tenderest yearnings toward all men, 
and fully prized a good reputation as a means 
of greater usefulness. 

But the reproaches — as well as the necessi- 
ties, persecutions, and distresses — came to him 
in the faithful, unselfish performance of duty, 



156 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

while he was consciously animated in every act 
by the one supreme motive, "for Christ's sake." 
Therefore he found in them all, despite their 
natural effect, true contentment and genuine 
pleasure. 

But the most remarkable part of this experi- 
ence remains to be remarked. 

Was the apostle strong in himself? He cer- 
tainly had great mental vigor and physical power 
of endurance. He had also been greatly strength- 
ened "through the abundance of revelations/' 
and had been wonderfully successful in labors 
which were yet more abundant. No man had 
greater personal influence and official power in 
the Church, or had used such influence and 
power with greater results for the common good. 
In all the labors of his life there had been ex- 
treme self-forgetfulness. He was habitually 
"ready, not to be bound only, but also to die 
for the name of the Lord Jesus." When he 
resorted occasionally to tent - making, it was 
merely to supply the otherwise unprovided 
necessities of life in the uninterrupted work of 
the apostleship. In prosecuting this work he 
had acutally suffered the loss of all things, and 
counted them as nothing, so that he might finish 
his course with joy and the ministry which he 
had received of the Lord Jesus. And when he 



A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. 1 57 

was driven by misrepresentation to vindicate 
himself, he did so apologetically, and with evi- 
dent reluctance. ' ' I am become a fool in glory- 
ing; ye have compelled me; for I ought to have 
been commended of you ; for in nothing am I 
behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be 
nothing.' ' 

Nevertheless there was danger of his being 
"exalted above measure," and of becoming self- 
confident and vain. Not even reproaches, neces- 
sities, persecutions, and distresses could prevent 
this ; for with a temperament like his they would 
tend only to a more decided demonstration of 
self. That very self must be touched, as when 
Jacob wrestled with the angel. So to this great 
apostle — this man of heroic spirit, indomitable 
energy, and magnificent enterprise in the king- 
dom of Christ — "there was given a thorn in 
the flesh." 

Then he learned for himself, and afterward 
illustrated for the Church in every age, the 
grandest and most important lesson of Christian 
life and labor. It is a paradox, and to human 
wisdom may seem an absurdity ; but the mouth 
of the Lord hath spoken it. "And he said 
unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my 
strength is made perfect in weakness/' Such was 
Paul's happy experience through many years, 



158 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

according to his own testimony, ' * For when I 
am weak then am I strong." 

Here, then, is the secret of that marvelous 
strength by which he approved himself as the 
minister of God "in much patience, in afflic- 
tions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in 
imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watch- 
ings, in fastings ; by pureness, by knowledge, by 
long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, 
by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the 
power of God, by the armor of righteousness on 
the right hand and on the left, by honor and 
dishonor, by evil report and good report ; as 
deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, and yet 
well known ; as dying, and behold we live ; as 
chastened, and not killed ; as sorrowful, yet 
always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many 
rich ; as having nothing, and yet possessing all 
things." It will never cease to be the wonder 
of the world, and yet it is nothing more than 
conscious human weakness fully surrendered to 
the possession of divine omnipotence. 

Let selfish strength take its own measure, 
lay its schemes, extend its alliances, marshal its 
forces, and even glory in its triumphs; but, after 
all, it is only human, and utterly fails of all high 
achievement for the good of the Church and 
the glory of the Redeemer. The strength of 



A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE. 159 

God is never revealed and made perfect in man 
until the independent, self-sufficient, self-seeking, 
and self-glorying self is withered in its strength, 
pierced in its joy, mocked in its pride, and 
"crucified with Christ." Then the new man 
may exclaim, "Nevertheless I live; yet not I, 
but Christ liveth in me." 

Happy the man who is in such a state, for 
in all things he is more than conqueror. Happy 
the Church composed of such men; who are 
dead unto the world and alive unto God ; who 
are weak for self and strong for Christ; who 
fight only the good fight of faith ; who do only 
the work, and seek only the joy, of their Lord. 

Is such happiness too much to expect in this 
intensely selfish and secular age? Human nature 
doubtless remains strong in many of the mem- 
bers of the Church, because they have not 
rightly endured the requisite discipline ; but 
surely the leaders and apostles, now as formerly, 
should be distinguished by the kind of weakness 
and strength peculiar to what is still a remarka- 
ble experience. 



l6o HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXIV. 

Legitimate Strife. 

DURING the recent terrible war for the 
maintenance of the Union, two kinds of 
strife were carried on simultaneously. Though 
closely related in operation, they were entirely 
different in motive and manner, character and 
effect. 

One was martial strife on hundreds of bloody 
battle-fields. It has its oft-told tales of enlist- 
ments and drafts, equipments and drills, marches 
and camps, intrenchments and sieges, recon- 
noissances and battles, hospitals and prisons, 
wounds and death, fearful disasters and final 
victory. Hundreds of thousands of noble citi- 
zens, from the boy in his teens to the man of 
gray hairs, went from their peaceful avocations 
and homes to suffer and die. Many of them, 
who had been conspicuous in peace by their 
talents and position, enlisted and served as pri- 
vate soldiers. As brothers in a common cause, 
they had no jealousies of office and rank, no 
thought of honor and emolument. They were 



LEGITIMATE STRIFE. l6l 

animated by only one purpose — speedily to crush 
rebellion, and thereby save the country from its 
infatuated foes, and perpetuate the institutions, 
under which they had lived, unimpaired to future 
generations. At the fearful cost of their toil and 
strife, sacrifice and blood, continued through four 
long, eventful years, the Government was upheld, 
the nation yet survives, and the land consecrated 
to freedom enters upon a career of progress and 
prosperity unprecedented in the world's history. 
But while these vast issues were still pending, 
while immense armies were in the field, and the 
whole country was alternating between hope and 
fear, watching every military movement with 
bated breath, and pouring out its treasure with- 
out stint, strife of another kind was going on 
among politicians and generals. It was the old, 
old question, Who shall be the greatest? Who 
shall have the credit of the campaign, and the 
applause of the country ? Who shall win the 
laurels, and be the hero of the war? Or, if 
military glory be not attainable, and party pre- 
dominance must be left to future developments, 
who shall wring from the necessities of war the 
largest financial gains? For both the profit and 
the renown there were countless aspirants, who 
regarded success as depending more upon favor 
and position than upon real merit. 



l62 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

wSo the strife for office raged. Had a superior 
fallen? His place must at once be secured. Did 
a probable competitor for prospective honors 
appear upon the scene ? He must be put out 
of the way, by fair means or foul, before becom- 
ing too formidable. In official correspondence, 
in the council-chamber, and even on the san- 
guinary field, the jealousies of political and mil- 
itary rivals often carried the day. Let the battle 
be lost, and the campaign prove a failure, rather 
than give the credit of victory to another. What 
were all the interests of the army and of the 
country, as staked upon the speedy and tri- 
umphant termination of the war, when compared 
with the prestige of party, or the success of 
mercenary or ambitious personal schemes ? No 
battle-field of the war was ever more hotly con- 
tested than the award of lucrative contracts and 
the possession of places of power. 

In comparing these two kinds of strife, we 
scarcely need to ask which was honorable, use- 
ful, and legitimate, or whether both alike were 
so. The difference was too strikingly mani- 
fested, and is too well remembered, to leave 
room for a single doubt. 

If any thing can justify the deadly conflict of 
arms, and the pouring out of the nation's treas- 
ure and blood, it is the preservation of the 



LEGITIMATE STRIFE. 1 63 

nation's life, the support of its rightful authority, 
and the maintenance of liberty, order, and peace. 
These ends involve almost every thing dear to 
man in his present state.* If war is necessary to 
secure them, and is properly conducted, then 
it is unquestionably honorable and legitimate. 
Such was the strife which awakened the patriot- 
ism, developed the manhood, and called into 
exercise many of the most exalted virtues of the 
American people. ' 

But of the other kind, what can be said ? It 
may be asked, "Is it not right to strive for 
property, for position, for power?" Only by 
legitimate means, justly and honorably — never 
to the injury of others, or to the sacrifice of 
common interests. Then, however, it almost, if 
not altogether, loses the character of strife, and 
becomes the modest and noble competition of 
thoroughly tested ability and genuine merit. 
But the sordidly greedy and unscrupulously am- 
bitious claimants upon the patronage of Govern- 
ment cared for no such conditions, and aimed 
only at success by any means and at any cost. 
Their plotting strife proved nearly as formidable 
and fatal as the rebellion itself, and has long 
since been branded with universal execration. 

Now, if we turn from the State to the Church, 
shall we still find the same kinds of strife — the 



164 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

legitimate and the illegitimate — carried on to- 
gether? Does human nature repeat itself on the 
new field, and under the more direct administra- 
tion of divine government? 

One kind of warfare is certainly authorized, 
and enjoined upon all Christians as individuals, 
and as organized bodies or Churches. They are 
to take the whole armor of God, that they may 
be able to withstand all the forces of evil. With 
weapons which are not carnal, but mighty 
through God, they are also to go forward ag- 
gressively to the pulling down of the strong- 
holds of ignorance, error, and sin. They are to 
fight the good fight of faith, obeying orders and 
enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus 
Christ. They are to strive together in prayer 
one for another, and in all mutual helpfulness 
against the common foe. In motive and man- 
ner, character and effect, their strife is most 
beneficent, exalted, and glorious. Following 
their triumphant head, they go from conquest to 
conquest, until they lay their trophies at his feet 
and are crowned with eternal life. 

Human nature is the same every-where — in 
ecclesiastical as in civil affairs — until it is regen- 
erated in the new life of love, and thus made to 
partake of the divine nature. It is human 
nature, with more or less of its old life, which 



LEGITIMATE STRIFE. 1 65 

sets Ephraim against Manasseh, and Manasseh 
against Ephraim — which turns the sword against 
its fellow, divides the hosts of the Lord into 
contending factions, and so long delays the 
final conquest of the world. In the separate 
organizations of the Church, and the administra- 
tion of their internal affairs, it is the same human 
nature that sets brother against brother in jealous 
rivalry, secret intrigue, or open contention for 
superior place. In their conferences and coun- 
cils, plans and appointments, it is continually 
reappearing in the character of Diotrephes, 
"who loveth to have the pre-eminence," and 
uses all his influence to obtain it. Human 
nature of this type every-where seeks its own 
gratification by any means promising success, 
adapts itself to the machinery and methods of 
the Church as readily as to those of the State, 
and finds among brethren the objects of its strife 
at almost any point, from the office of Sunday- 
school Superintendent to the honors of the Epis- 
copacy. If it is placed under the greater re- 
strictions of opposing public sentiment in the 
Church, and would be sure of defeat by expos- 
ure, it needs only to be the more subtle in its 
disguises and the more artful in its manage- 
ment ; in which case it may obtain for a time 
even the reputation of superior sagacity and 



1 66 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

strength. Poor human nature ! and the very 
poorest when most successful ! 

It may be that Diotrephes is not the repre- 
sentative of any considerable class in the Church. 
For the honor of the Church, let us believe that 
he is not. But it is nevertheless true that, in 
Church or State, especially in time of war, he is 
a most dangerous character. He would not 
receive even the beloved John, because the 
apostle was somehow in his way, and interfered 
with his plans of pre-eminence. Now, as for- 
merly, he is addicted to strife ; and such strife 
within the Church is only so much aid and com- 
fort eriven to the enemv without. If once allowed 
to find place, if tolerated at all, it may prove as 
dangerous to the militant Church as it was to 
the struggling nation. 

The fact is, and it should never be forgotten,' 
that there is no blessing of God, no union or 
strength, no safety or success, no worthy or final 
promotion, except in entire devotion to Christ 
on the appointed field and in the one legitimate 
strife. 



THE BEST PLACE. 167 



XXV. 

The Best Place. 

THE supposed best places are also supposed 
to be few. The nation can have but one 
constitutional President, whose chief counselors 
are as small in number as they are distinguished 
in position. The Senate and the House of Rep- 
resentatives, constituting the national Congress, 
are kept within definite bounds by the roll of the 
States and the returns of the census. Seats in 
the supreme judiciary are occupied for life; but 
the bench is short and vacancies are rare. And 
so it is with all the coveted places of power, 
honor, and emolument in both State and Church. 
They are open to universal competition, but can 
be obtained by only a definite number. 

Perhaps it is because they are so few in com- 
parison with the possible candidates that they 
are so eagerly sought and highly prized. They 
seem to be estimated, like the precious metals 
and stones, according to their rarity, and the 
sort of distinction they are therefore supposed 
to confer upon the fortunate possessor. But are 



1 68 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

they, for this reason, really better than other 
places? 

The great diamond "Kohinoor" is a rare and 
celebrated gem, but it has no intrinsic worth cor- 
responding to its enormous valuation among the 
crowned heads of Europe. Aside from its pos- 
sible use in the arts, its value is altogether facti- 
tious, depending solely upon conventional esti- 
mate and the demands of royal pomp and display. 
In real service to mankind, " Webster's Spelling- 
book " is of far greater importance. But it often 
happens under conventional rule that the most 
brilliant, rather than the most useful, is accounted 
the best; and this is as true of places as it is of 
mere decorations. 

In our own country popular estimate is substi- 
tuted for royal caprice; but it tends just as rigidly 
to rule the rates of value. How is this or that 
place quoted among the people? What does trie 
press say of it? How much will it bring in the 
way of distinction or influence or ease or the 
money which answereth all things ? In short, 
what is the weight and quality of the diamond? 
Or, is it no diamond at all, but simply a piece of 
polished glass? The real jewel of a place, rare, 
and resplendent with a luster which it reflects upon 
its distinguished possessor — that by the decree 
of selfish ambition is proclaimed to be the highest 



THE BEST PLACE. 1 69 

prize. But is personal distinction or any special 
gratification of self the test and proof of superior 
excellence of place? Perhaps so as the world 
goes, and according to a shallow, short-sighted, 
and utterly false philosophy of life. 

But the truth is, place is only the means and 
opportunity of use, and derives all its value from 
that fact. It is the setting, while the man him- 
self is diamond or glass, or infinitely more than 
either, according to his intrinsic qualities. 

A diamond is a diamond, whether glittering 
on the brow of the prince or utilized in the tool 
of the artisan; and glass is no more than glass, 
though wrought with the skill of the lapidary 
and set in the finest gold; but each has its own 
best place. Glass is doubtless of far greater 
value to the world than diamonds — not as a sub- 
stitute for diamonds, but in the numerous bene- 
ficent uses to which it is adapted; and, happily, 
that which is most useful is also most abundant. 
So among men. Few have the brilliancy which 
dazzles and charms, while all have in some de- 
gree the power to be useful ; and the w r ide aver- 
age ability well employed does in fact accomplish 
greater good than the most splendid genius. 

But whatever any man's ability may be, it is 
only with that he can occupy any place, and it is 
therefore by that his place should be determined. 



170 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

The main consideration is mutual fitness in order 
to the greatest good of the greatest number. It 
is simply a question of the right man for the 
right place, and the right place for the man ; and 
wherever any one can render the best service, 
there certainly is his best place. 

So it seems that under the law of adaptation 
and service for the common good there are as 
many best places as there are persons ready to 
fill them ; that is to say, every, human being may 
have what to him is the very best place. 

How to find it, is the next question. It can 
not safely be left to the chances of the market, 
nor to the influence of the false ambition which 
seeks place for the sake of place, without regard 
to fitness or usefulness. In order to reach a right 
decision, one's own judgment doubtless should 
be exercised, modestly and dispassionately. But 
is there no infallible guide on which we may 
safely rely? 

Happily for all who are willing to be guided, 
infinite wisdom and power are fully engaged in 
the case. 

In the bodies of men and animals, every one 
of almost countless organs, even the weakest and 
most insignificant, has its own best place; for 
"God hath set the members every one of them 
in the body as it hath pleased him." So has he 



THE BEST PLACE.. 171 

done also in every assignment of place through- 
out the universe, from the sun riding in the 
heavens to the insect which floats for an hour in 
its evening beams. So minute and particular is 
this divine supervision that every molecule of 
sustenance taken by either plant or animal goes 
directly to its proper place in the organism. It 
is by such specific assignment of particles that the 
same food is made to supply widely different 
parts, and becomes in the plant stalk or leaf or 
fruit, and in the animal nerve or muscle or bone. 
And does God care less for the place and work 
of human beings? Has he no well-ordered and 
comprehensive plan, no direct and special super- 
vision for the noblest creatures of his hand? 
How much more in their life than anywhere 
else may we look for the display of his wisdom 
and power. If God uses the affinities and in- 
stincts of inferior things for their direction, he 
surely has means and methods just as effectual 
for us ; and on condition of our intelligent, hearty, 
and unqualified submission to the various expres- 
sions of his will, he does infallibly guide us every 
one to that which in his estimate is our best place. 
The practical use of this great truth is mani- 
fold. It takes God into our council rather than 
flesh and blood. It turns ambition and effort in 
the direction of personal qualification and useful- 



172 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

ness instead of this or that conspicuous position. 
It is an effectual antidote to the petty jealousies 
and strifes which agitate and curse both the 
world and the Church. It solves a great problem 
with absolute certainty, for God is able to accom- 
plish the purpose of his wisdom, despite all con- 
flicting human agencies. And so it brings to the 
faithful servant a serenity and gladness, an in- 
spiration and power, a nobility and moral grand- 
eur all unknown to the anxious self-seeker, while 
it lifts every providential lot in life, whether hon- 
ored or unhonored by the world, to the same ex- 
alted plane of a common and divine service. 

Happy, thrice happy, is the man, the woman, 
the child who seeks only from God the best place. 



"PRAY FOR US." 173 



XXVI. 

"Pray for Us." 

IT is a significant fact that the Apostle Paul 
was accustomed to make this request both 
for himself and for his associates. Sometimes 
he expressed it in much stronger terms, as 
when he said to the Romans, "Now I beseech 
you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, 
and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive to- 
gether with me in your prayers to God for me." 
Like a chieftain addressing his warriors, he 
charged the Ephesians to gird themselves for the 
conflict, and to pray alway, "watching thereunto 
with all perseverance and supplication for all 
saints," but closed his appeal with the words, 
" and for me" So in his second letter to the 
Thessalonians he gave special prominence to the 
request, "Finally, brethren, pray for us." Nor 
did he forget to render the same service in be- 
half of others, whom he constantly encouraged 
with the assurance, "Without ceasing I make 
mention of you always in my prayers." 

This request is the more remarkable as coming 



174 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

from the chief of the apostles, and as addressed 
to Churches which under his ministry had been 
raised up among the heathen only .a little while 
before. Doubtless they needed his prayers, but 
why should he require theirs ? It certainly was 
not from any defect in his own faith; for he had 
obtained help from God when forsaken of all 
men, and by his word of faith had been the 
means of converting multitudes from idolatry. 
The prayers which he offered for others would 
be even more effectual in his own behalf, because 
he so fully complied with the personal conditions 
on which the answer depended. The case for- 
bids the supposition of any doubt, hesitation, or 
weakness on the part of the great apostle to the 
Gentiles ; and yet it was no idle form or flatter- 
ing compliment when he said to young and old, 
weak and strong — to all alike — * ' Pray for us ." 

This is the language of the heart, and it gives 
utterance to a feeling which belongs to human 
nature even in its best estate, and is in no respect 
unapostolic. Paul felt the need of human sym- 
pathy in his work for Christ, and endeavored to 
secure it by the most effective method — by join- 
ing the petitions of the people with the inter- 
cessions of their Lord, and bringing the whole 
Church into living sympathy with its Head. 
His request, we may be sure, was in perfect 



« PRAY FOR US." 175 

accordance with the will and plan of Him who 
has given special promise to even "two who 
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that 
they shall ask." 

The earnest repetition of this request by any 
one is a practical recognition of that community 
of thought, feeling, and labor which distinguishes 
the kingdom of the Messiah. In this kingdom 
both natural and conventional distinctions are 
either abolished or absorbed, and all men are 
brought together in the unity of a common 
spirit and aim; for here "there is neither Greek 
nor Jew, .circumcision nor uncircumcision, bar- 
barian, Scythian, bond nor free ; but Christ is 
all, and in all.*' Nothing tends so powerfully to 
perfect and establish this community of interest 
as the mutual service of prayer "around one 
common mercy -seat." Answering alike the 
yearnings of the heart and the demands of the 
cause, it is a universal and imperative necessity; 
and now more than ever before. 

With the vast increase and prosperity of the 
Church, a division of labor into numerous de- 
partments under separate organizations becomes 
indispensable ; and this is attended with more or 
less liability to mutual jealousy and conflict — 
culminating sometimes in the sad reality. On 
the withdrawal of the open opposition which 



176 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

once compelled the sympathy of a common 
cause, and with the present substitution of the 
insidious competition of worldly and selfish in- 
terests, there is special need of this bond of 
union. It is the one great demand of the hour 
in every part of the Christian Church. 

Just as the various denominations cherish the 
habit of prayer, equally fervent, for all who work 
for Christ, they reduce their necessary differences 
to the lowest point, and meet on the common field, 
in happy fellowship, without bigotry or suspicion. 

When Christians come to God with full hearts 
in behalf of the unconverted millions of the 
world, they are brought into active and practical 
sympathy with the missionary on the most dis- 
tant outpost. 

If ministers pray one for another, they w r ill 
rejoice each in the other's advancement and suc- 
cess. If the ministry pray for the laity and the 
laity for the ministry, and do this habitually and 
earnestly, no distrust, rivalry, or antagonism can 
intervene. 

The relation of the Sunday-school to the 
Church settles itself — indeed, as a question, it 
never occurs — when the two are one in prayer. 
The home is never so near the Church, nor the 
Church so like the home, as when in each the 
other is remembered with fervent supplication. 



"PRAY. FOR US." 177 

No pastor can be successful among the people 
without following the apostolic example ; and no 
people can be true to their obligations while 
neglecting reciprocal service. Nor is this less nec- 
essary with parents and Sunday-school teachers. 

Every Christian at work finds in his own 
prayers a fountain of perpetual inspiration, and 
in the prayers of others a broad channel through 
which it may flow unimpeded. Nothing devel- 
ops individual activity, or harmonizes the labors 
of a multitude, like concurrent prayer. It is the 
very nerve-force of organization, and the life- 
bond of the Church. 

How far this demand remains unsupplied, is 
a question in which all are interested ; for the 
very weakest disciple, though unable to do any 
thing else, can pray for others. The "Week of 
Prayer" appointed by the Evangelical Alliance, 
and now generally observed throughout Chris- 
tendom at the beginning of each year, is a hope- 
ful sign and a fair promise ; but it is too short 
by just the distance between the second Sabbath 
in January and the end of the year. A whole 
life of such prayer consummated in eternal 
praise — this alone will meet the necessities of 
the case and the appointment of God. If the 
Scriptures were really designed to apply to this 

busy age and in this busy land of ours, then 

12 



178 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

prayer must become a part of the business of the 
busiest, and so remain till the latest breath. 

Under this rule the subjects of prayer might 
be greatly extended, and the mention of any no- 
table omissions would not be altogether fruitless. 
For instance, the general executive officers of 
the Church are said to have a smaller share in 
the prayers of the people than when the}' were 
regular pastors, though with the change their 
responsibilities have certainly increased. The 
teachers in our institutions of learning, from the 
common-school to the college and university, — 
are they mentioned in prayer beyond the circle 
of their own families ? The very thought of 
what they are doing should send every heart 
heavenward in their behalf. And last, though 
not least, are the writers and editors, whose 
words are multiplied by thousands and sent all 
over the land, full freighted with good or evil. 
In secluded chambers, remote from the people, 
they wield with throbbing hearts the mighty 
engine of the press. If they could be heard in 
their own behalf, how many of all these workers 
would say, with apostolic earnestness, "Pray 
for us!" 



" WHO CARES POP. ME?' 



l 79 



XXVII. 

u Who Cares for Me?" 

THE question is not, Who provides for me, 
watches over me, or performs any actual 
service? While it may mean all this, it goes 
much deeper, and inquires for the care which is 
felt in the heart. Who takes any interest in my 
personal welfare, any thought or concern for me 
as one among the great multitude of the race? 
It must be for me as an individual, for what I 
am, not for what I happen to possess or may be 
able to do. Whether the question implies doubt 
that any one cares, or would specify and distin- 
guish those who certainly do care, it always points 
to something heart-felt and personal. 

Such questioning is the voice of human na- 
ture, the cry of every soul. First heard in in- 
fancy, and answered in the tender love of parents 
and all the happy provisions of home, it is car- 
ried forward through all the years of life, not as 
a lingering remnant of unweaned babyhood, but 
as the inmost demand of a nature which can never 
outgrow itself. 



l8o HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE 

The man may look with scorn upon a condi- 
tion of dependence, and reject all offers of help; 
he may be able in body and mind to care for 
himself and for others too; he may have such 
talents and wealth and power that many turn to 
him for aid; and yet it is all the same. The need 
is still there if he remains a man. In his very 
best estate his soul will find utterance, not per- 
haps in the ears of others, but certainly in its own 
deep recesses. 

It is even doubtful whether human nature can 
ever be so perverted and destroyed as to lose all 
conscious interest in the question. The man who 
cares for nobody, and becomes an enemy to so- 
ciety, proceeds on the assumption that nobody 
cares for him, and is only seeking revenge for dis- 
appointed desires. In the lowest depths of deg- 
radation and crime he still retains the constitu- 
tion of a human being, and in some way gives 
evidence of its imperative need. 

Since this yearning of the soul is a part of our 
very nature, it is sheer folly to treat it as a weak- 
ness either in ourselves or in others. To conceal, 
repress, or ridicule it as something to be ashamed 
of, and to cherish in its stead a stoical indifference, 
is no way to become stronger. Whether a weak- 
ness or not, like hunger and thirst, it must be sat- 
isfied in order to the health and vigor of the soul. 



"WHO CARES FOR ME?" l8l 

Body and soul alike are constituted to subsist 
and thrive in a state of dependence, and their 
healthful cravings are only the calls for supplies, 
the natural language of this dependence, and the 
very means through which strength is acquired 
and maintained. In either case, continued re- 
pression or denial reacts with the most injurious 
effect, producing those morbid conditions in 
which the man becomes a prey to himself. Per- 
fect mental soundness can not long survive under 
a fixed conviction of being cut off from all sym- 
pathy and regard. So the affection of a dumb 
brute is better than nothing; and prisoners in 
solitary confinement have often found delight in 
the interested companionship of even a mouse or 
a spider. No feeling of human nature is more 
deeply seated and powerful or more sacred and 
honorable than that which seeks for personal rec- 
ognition and love. 

This feeling is evidently designed to subserve 
a most important purpose through its adaptation 
to our actual relations. 

We were not made to live alone as mere in- 
dividuals, separated from God and our fellows in 
repellent self-absorption and self-sufficiency. As 
a matter of fact, we are not alone and never can 
be. While retaining a distinct and separate in- 
dividuality, we are necessarily and constantly in 



1 82 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

some sort of connection with others. But the 
connection is nothing more than mere contact, 
like that of sand upon the seashore, until love 
performs its office. 

Here, then, is an effective provision for the 
closest union of heart with heart, the vital inter- 
linking of one being with another. It is only 
this strong natural desire to be loved that gives 
to love itself all its marvelous power, making it 
the mightiest moral force of the universe, the 
chosen agency of human redemption, and the 
happy bond of one vast family. If there were 
no demand, the supply would be a matter of in- 
difference, and the work of love would be without 
effect. For all the best interests of the race, 
therefore, nothing is more important than this 
universal desire of the heart, and no more hope- 
ful sign is ever found than the question it asks. 

The answer, as coming from man, is often 
seriously insufficient, although He who created 
the demand has also made abundant provision for 
the human supply. 

The family was expressly instituted to be a 
perpetual fountain of loving care. In all its rela- 
tions, from infancy to age, its highest and holiest 
mission is to satisfy the heart, so far as human 
love is capable of satisfying. Alas ! that it should 
ever degenerate into a mere dwelling-place for the 



"WHO CARES FOR ME?" 183 

body, or become the abode of mutual indifference 
or hate. The true home is where the heart is 
always sure of its answer, so that it turns thither 
through all its desert wanderings as to a fountain 
of living waters. 

But the fountain should send forth its streams 
by the wayside, and many together should be 
sufficient to make the wilderness glad, and the 
desert to rejoice and blossom as the rose. The 
family is the type and source of another institu- 
tion as broad as humanity. "God hath made of 
one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the 
face of the earth;" "and all ye are brethren." 
Corresponding blessings should therefore go forth 
into the universal brotherhood for the refresh- 
ment of every human heart. If the natural sup- 
ply is not enough for such wide distribution, 
after meeting the nearer demand, He who made 
the water to gush from the rock in the wilder- 
ness is able also so to smite our selfishness that, 
in like manner, there shall be no lack for either 
man or beast. Then shall we all love as breth- 
ren, having the same care one for another, and 
the heart shall never turn in vain to its fellow. 

But no human love is able or was ever de- 
signed fully to satisfy our demands. At the best 
it is like the water of Jacob's well; for "whoso- 
ever drinketh of this water shall thirst again," 



1 84 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

and again "come hither to draw." Moreover, 
such wells are often dry or soon exhausted. Not 
yet have all the rocks been smitten, and even 
where the opening process seems to have been 
performed, their supplies are sometimes so meagre 
or so wasted in the sand that they never reach 
the thirsty soul. But God himself provides for 
every deficiency by his own wonderful and all- 
sufficient love. Indeed, he has so constituted 
the soul that its chief demands can be met by no 
other than himself. Only his love can suffice, 
and to every man it is made unceasingly avail- 
able in Christ. "Whosoever drinketh of the 
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; 
but the water that I shall give him shall be in 
him a well of water springing up into everlast- 
ing life." 

By such imvard revelation of his Spirit, as well 
as by the promises of his Word and the bless- 
ings of his providence, the All-loving One distin- 
guishes the very least among the children of men, 
and answers the question, "Who cares for me?" 



"THE YOUNG CHILD." 18 



XXVIII. 

"The Young Child. " 

ADAM and Eve, alone, of all the race, had 
no childhood. Perhaps they needed none. 
Perhaps they knew by intuition all that must 
now be learned by the slow and painful process 
of early years. For aught we know, they were 
created with such strength and perfection of 
mind, as well as of body, that they required no 
long course of preparatory discipline for life in 
Eden. And yet they signally and sadly failed 
in their first great trial. 

Would the result have been different, if they 
had grown up slowly from a condition of infancy 
under a system of careful instruction and train- 
ing? Perhaps not, though the question is natu- 
rally suggested by the present well-known laws 
of mind. It is very certain, that no one now 
would be competent to meet the responsibilities 
of mature life, without the preparation provided 
for by the previous period of childhood and 
youth. 

But why did not "the second Adam," like 



1 86 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the first — why did not the Lord Jesus Christ — 
come into the world a full-grown man, and ready 
to enter at once upon his mission of help and 
healing? 

Such would probably have been the state- 
ment, had the story of his life been a mere 
fabrication. Human invention would never have 
thought of assigning the manifestation of God in 
the flesh to the inferior estate of infancy. And 
what was possible in Eden, was not impossible 
in Bethlehem. Christ came from heaven, where 
he was in the form of God, and thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God ; and when he took 
upon him the form of a servant, and was made 
in the likeness of men, it certainly was within 
the range of his power to appear in fashion as a 
man fully matured. Besides, it could not have 
been necessary for him, "of whom are all things, 
and by whom are all things," to undergo any 
process of gradual development in human form 
as a preparation for his work. 

Nevertheless, he himself chose to enter the 
world as a little child, and in very fact became 
the one of whom the angel said to the shep- 
herds: "This shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall 
find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying 
in a manger." 

The perfect human childhood of our Lord is 



"THE YOUNG CHILD." 187 

doubtless in some respects a mystery, whose 
depths can never be fathomed in the present life; 
and yet it was evidently an essential part of his 
earthly mission, every appointment of which, 
from first to last, was made with infinite wisdom. 
It must therefore have some important purpose 
to serve in behalf of the world, and may well be 
made the subject of reverent and loving thought, 
especially on each annual recurrence of the 
Christmas festival. If our " looking unto Jesus" 
takes the range of his wonderful life, we cer- 
tainly can not overlook ''the young child." 

The lesson of utter self-abnegation was not 
taught more impressively on the cross itself than 
in the manger of the wayfarer's inn. There 
Christ, the Lord, took the lowest place among 
the crowd of Galilean tax-payers. Though his 
birth was announced by angels, as "good tidings 
of great joy which shall be to all people," his 
bed was with the beasts of the stall. This was 
the earthly court of the King of kings, where he 
received the homage, not of princes and nobles, 
but of humble shepherds and strangers from afar. 

But the scene of the manger was only the be- 
ginning. Such poor hospitality, in the very city 
of David, was soon followed by the necessary 
flight under cover of darkness into a foreign 
land. The place of early bondage became the 



1 88 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LTEE. 

refuge of the great Deliverer. When they were 
dead who had sought the young child's life, he 
found a sanctuary and home in the obscure and 
disreputable village of Nazareth, where he was 
known simply as the carpenter's son. For thirty 
long years he made himself of no reputation 
with the great and noble of the land, nor was he 
received in his true character even among his 
own kinsfolk and acquaintances; and afterward, 
while ministering to multitudes with omnipotent 
power, he had not where to lay his head. 

Well may the world linger in thought around 
the cradle of the Redeemer, and endeavor to 
learn its lessons; for it is the true and significant 
type of his whole earthly estate. Calvary was 
only the sequel of Bethlehem. 

But the picture of Christ's voluntary humil- 
iation, which is so heavy with earthly shadows, 
is relieved by tintings of light as soft as the radi- 
ance of "his star in the east," and as bright as 
the glory which beamed upon the shepherds. 

In the foreground with the manger is the 
mother — "the young child and his mother." 
If the tender ministries of woman never before 
had such a place, surely they never had such an 
object. But what was the manger, with a mother's 
love and care? If there was no room in the inn 
for the infant form of the Son of God, there was 



"THE YOUNG CHILD." 189 

no lack of it in the maternal heart. The shep- 
herds paid him their homage, and returned to 
their flocks; the wise men offered their worship 
with gifts presented from ample treasures, and 
then departed into a distant country; but Mary 
rendered the ceaseless tribute of adoring love 
and faithful service through all the years, even 
to the last. Night and day she was with him in 
Bethlehem, in Egypt, and in Nazareth — the 
inseparable companion of his infancy, childhood, 
and youth. While the world knew not its 
wonderful guest, and rejected him, she cher- 
ished him with a fondness greatly intensified by 
the knowledge, which comes from long-contin- 
ued intimacy in the hallowed relationship of 
mother in a humble home. In the maturity of 
his manhood and during his public ministry, she 
was his mother still, and followed him with her 
devotion even to the cross, where in his dying 
agony he recognized her presence. 

Can heaven itself furnish a more beautiful 
and touching picture of mutual love and service? 
Can the maternal office ever receive higher 
sanctity and honor? And what could be more 
befitting and significant than such agency of 
woman in the world's redemption? Permitted 
to render the first services required by the Re- 
deemer, she continues to hold the place of honor 



1 90 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

in the early nurture of all the redeemed. Her 
mission will never be accomplished until she 
accompanies the last child of her love from the 
cradle to the cross. 

If the opening scene of the Gospel narrative 
appeals to the heart of woman, it also touches 
all her children. 

The Son of God, as the child of Mary, comes 
into the closest relationship with every human 
being. By a separate creation, even in perfect 
human form, he would have been excluded from 
the unity of the race ; but now, by his birth, he 
becomes One of tis — ''bone of our bone, and 
flesh of our flesh." He belongs, as a natural 
descendant, to the one great family whom he 
came to redeem; "for which cause he is not 
ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will de- 
clare thy name unto my brethren." "Wherefore 
in all things it behooved him to be made like 
unto his brethren," not that he might know them, 
but that they might know him as one of their 
own number, and feel the power of his sympa- 
thy, and be assured of his faithfulness and abil- 
ity as their representative. But this intimate 
relationship begins with earliest infancy, where 
all life begins; and so it is carried on through 
the successive stages of growth to maturity. 
The babe in every human habitation has a 



"THE YOUNG CHILD." I9I 

brother in the Babe of Bethlehem; and the 
children of every hamlet on the face of the earth 
have a friend in the Boy of Nazareth. Old age 
itself acknowledges the tender tie by its interest 
in the little ones, and its own cherished memo- 
ries of early years. 

Surely, by childhood the whole world is made 
% akin; and next to the cross, in power to reach 
the human heart, is the lowly cradle of "the 
young child ,, — God's only-begotten Son. 



4 

I92 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXIX. 

Home Power. 

IT was wise counsel that the minister gave 
the young people of his congregation, when 
in the course of a sermon on home life he rec- 
ommended marriage at the earliest suitable age, 
but very earnestly charged them never to dare 
to marry except for love — genuine, unselfish 
love. Such counsel, supported by appropriate 
reasons, though somewhat unusual in the pulpit, 
seemed eminently befitting ; for it was in full 
accord with the Scriptures, and of real practical 
importance. 

The substitution of any other motive is a 
positive desecration of the divine ordinance. 
True love is the fundamental law, the soul, and 
the sanctity of marriage. It may be regarded 
as an adaptation to this relation, a distinct and 
special form of one of the most wonderful forces 
in the universe, — a force subtle in its nature, 
multiform in its operations, and almost unlimited 
in its power. True love, indeed, is always essen- 
tially the same, differing only in that which is 



HOME POWER. I93 

incidental, as its object, occasion, etc. Its prac- 
tical effect, in this as in other forms, is to subdue 
selfishness, purify passion, refine manners, assim- 
ilate character, induce sacrifices, lighten service, 
and vitalize life. It is absolutely indispensable 
to the happiness of a relation at once so intimate 
and so potential in all human interests. 

We do not wonder that such love has large 
place in the illustrations and requirements of 
Christianity. Its general acceptance, according 
to the counsel of the preacher and his Book, 
will effectually lift society out of the slough of 
divorces, and establish a reform far beyond the 
reach of legislators, and quite unknown to the 
filthy dreams of modern free-lovers. Nothing- 
else has power to restore the lost paradise, and 
reopen Eden in the dwellings of men. 

Another special form of the love -force is 
parental affection. When this affection is only 
instinctive, and so far analogous to that of 
brutes, it is comparatively weak, and is easily 
overcome by any conflicting passion. In such 
cases it proves to be a very incompetent keeper, 
and may even offer in sacrifice the child's life, 
as has often been done in some of the horrid 
rites of paganism. But Christianity provides, 
by its teachings and spirit, for the re-enforce- 
ment and elevation of the natural instinct, by 

13 



194 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

developing an affection which is stronger than 
death, and which always seeks the good of 
its object. 

What besides a deep and unselfish love is 
able to meet the peculiar demands of child- 
hood, — the incessant care of its helplessness, 
the patient instruction of its ignorance, the 
tender correction of its waywardness and folly, 
the faithful nurture and training of all its varied 
faculties? But this is equal to the task — a task 
no longer. 

Thus inspired the father, as bread-winner, 
cheerfully toils early and late, the mother forgets 
her weariness in maternal joys, and both renew 
their lives in the budding life of their offspring. 
Condole with such parents on the cost and 
drudgery of rearing a family of children, and the 
only reply will be a look of pitying wonder. 
Love has a marvelous power of transfiguration, 
investing its object with a glory never seen by 
other eyes, and lifting its service up from drudg- 
ery to the dignity of a royal ministry. 

If parental affection were always of this type, 
and duly enlightened as to the real welfare of 
children, the little ones would never be sacrificed, 
nor in any way neglected, at the bidding of 
fashion, or covetousness, or indolence. The 
divine right of parents, in the chief care and 



HOME POWER. I95 

instruction of their young immortals, is far too 
precious and .responsible a right to be easily 
surrendered to servants and teachers ; and love 
insists upon maintaining its prerogatives. 

One of the most important of these preroga- 
tives is the development of love in the heart of 
the child. Filial affection is said to be naturally 
weaker than parental, and if so it needs special 
cultivation. 

How shall this be secured? Life springs 
from life, love from love. The child's first love 
is a natural response to the call of the mother's 
heart, love answering love ; and as it begins, so 
it increases and extends to father, brothers, sis- 
ters, and then higher and wider still. Love can 
be taught and learned only by its own operation. 
"We love him because he first loved us," gives 
its natural philosophy in a word, and is as true 
in human as in divine relations. But even the 
love which is given to God, when his love be- 
comes known, needs this preliminary aw r akening 
of the heart, this development of the capacity 
of loving obtained in the nursery of domestic 
affections. "He that loveth not his brother 
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom 
he hath not seen?" 

With this early and easy beginning and nur- 
ture, love may grow from the mere susceptibility 



I96 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

into a strong and ruling habitude, ready to 
respond to all the claims of God and man. 
When it is of the right quality, genuine and 
unselfish, — and this always implies careful cul- 
ture and divine aid, — it becomes the very life of 
parental government, of filial obedience, of fra- 
ternal service, of domestic happiness. In itself 
the richest inheritance which parents can ever 
bestow, it amply repays the early investment by 
yielding grateful reverence through their advanc- 
ing years, and by waiting in tender ministries 
upon the tottering footsteps of their decline. 

Thus home becomes a heart word, a center 
of attraction, a source of blessedness, a seat of 
power, a type and vestibule of heaven — all by 
the gentle might of love. 

On a little larger scale, the world itself is a 
home, and the human race a family. Such, at 
least, is their natural constitution — a home of 
homes, a family of families and fragments of 
families. Here the field and the need are alike 
boundless. In the absence of love fearful dis- 
orders prevail. Shall the unity of the race ever 
become any thing more than a barren ethnolog- 
ical fact, a mere oneness of blood derived from 
some remote ancestral head? Alas! the closest 
affinity of blood could not restrain the murderous 
hand of the man first-born, and first to know the 



HOME POWER. I97 

name of brother; nor has it since established 
any true and inviolable kinship in the earth. 
But here, too, love is equal to the magnitude 
and difficulty of the work. Coming down from 
God out of heaven, incarnated in the only-begot- 
ten Son, represented by the Church as a general 
agency, and nurtured in Christian homes at the 
very fountains of human life, love is the mighty 
power of the world's reform. 

If all homes were thoroughly Christian in 
their light and love, the problem would soon be 
solved. The whole takes the character of its 
parts. Like the families, like the nations. So- 
ciety at large has less intimate relations than 
those of the domestic circle, but it is composed 
of the same members, deals with the same nature, 
has the same evil of selfishness, and requires the 
same power of love. But because the homes of 
men are not all nurseries of love, those which 
are must work beyond their own limits through 
the organized action of the Church and the direct 
influence of personal intercourse. The spirit and 
law of the home must be carried into the broader 
relationship of humanity, and into the wider 
action of daily life in business and society. The 
brother in feeling must win the brother in name; 
the love of one heart must gain the love of other 
hearts ; but above all, and by every device of 



I98 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

heart-taught skill, the homes and strongholds of 
the world must be brought into the domain 
of love, the kingdom of God. 

Toward this glorious consummation all true 
love is steadily working, whether it be conjugal, 
parental, filial, or fraternal, in the small or the 
larger circle. In its purity it is God's love, 
manifested through his Son, reproduced in hu- 
man hearts by the Holy Spirit, and adapted to 
all possible human relations ; and every-where it 
is mighty to win the heart and make the home. 
Its final and crowning triumph is the heavenly 
home. Earth would be poor indeed, and our 
life a sad failure, but for the divinely given home 
power. 



HOME WORK. 199 



XXX. 

Home Work. 

YES, that is what we mean — not house work. 
The latter may be important enough for dis- 
cussion, and is certainly worthy of being held in 
all honor ; but it is only a part of home work, if 
the home is any thing more than the house. 

The home builds and occupies the house, and 
confers upon it the honor of an intimate and ne- 
cessary association, but without surrendering its 
own distinctive superiority. This is never lost 
by alliance with even the humblest cottage, for 
it depends upon something besides the excellence 
of a mere habitation. "The foxes have holes 
and the birds of the air have nests," but only the 
children of men have homes. Just so far as men 
are like beasts and birds, they require similar 
provision — a suitable dwelling-place with its ap- 
propriate service. Because they rise far above 
"all things which dwell," they form the home, 
bring their glory and honor into it, and need its 
highest, noblest work. 



200 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

The nature of the institution determines the 
character of its work. 

Home means life in its largest sense — its be- 
ginning, direction, development, and support. If 
this be not so, what signifies the permanence or 
sanctity of the marriage relation, the long period 
of childhood, the influence of the parent over the 
child, the strength and purity of domestic love, 
or the connection of character with the " promise 
of the life that now is and of that which is to 
come?" 

The institution of the family has been trans- 
mitted from Eden, and preserved in the world 
under the seal of a perpetual ordinance of God 
for the benefit of human souls. Like every other 
ordinance of God, it has a purpose and holds a 
place in his comprehensive scheme of provisions 
and agencies for the elevation of the race to fel- 
lowship with himself. It is in intimate connec- 
tion with all other agencies to this great end, and 
like them is taken under divine direction, and 
fully furnished for the part it has to perform. 

And what an admirable part is this. The 
home is the school of character, where mind acts 
upon mind with unequaled advantages, where the 
subtle influences of the heart come into play in 
their amplest force., where living souls may be 
fashioned by all the ministries of love and truth 



HOME WORK. 20 1 

after the mold of heavenly spirits, and fitted for 
their fellowship in the skies. Here is the place 
of power and responsibility, greater than any 
other on earth, the cradle of destiny, God's own 
school of training for life and immortality. Here 
parents and children are both teachers and learn- 
ers, while God himself appoints the lessons, orders 
the discipline, imparts the wisdom, supports the 
life, and gathers to heavenly mansions the ripened 
results. 

Between the lowliest home on earth and our 
Father's house on high there is ever unseen mys- 
terious communication and frequent transfer — 
angels coming and loved ones going. Earth and 
heaven here are joined, and the home below leads 
like a vestibule to the home above. Oh, the 
dignity, the moral grandeur of this birthplace 
and nursery of young immortals! Who is suf- 
ficient for its work? 

It seems strange to us that woman, the priest- 
ess of God in this home temple, should rest- 
lessly aspire to the privileges and honors of any 
other service — passing strange — because this is 
the grandest work permitted to mortals, a work 
in which all heaven is interested, and God him- 
self is partner. 

We can conceive of no higher sphere of ambi- 
tion. Home is the fountain of Church and State, 



202 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the arbiter of human destinies, the throne of the 
world. The home work makes or mars all else. 
Without its due performance, laws are enacted 
and even the Gospel is preached in vain, and the 
learning and wealth of the world become the 
ministers of corruption and death. 

Here, then, at the fountain head of influence, 
holding the balances, and reigning undisputed 
queen, is woman — the wife, mother, daughter, 
sister. Oh, that every one might see the vast 
relations of her own home work, and rise to the 
measure of its demand! 

But others bear a part in this work of the 
home. Here the humble toiler among the briers 
and thorns of the fields and shops and marts of 
the world may lay aside the garb of servitude 
and put on his royal robes. The highest office 
of the lord of the manor is to sow the seed and 
train the growth whose fruitage is eternal life. 
By what he does and says and is, as husband, 
father, son, or brother, he contributes to this 
work, to its ways and means, its glory and re- 
ward. All else in his life is subordinate and pre- 
paratory to this. This is the end which glorifies 
his toil, and lifts him to the dignity of a workman 
of God. This is the compensation for a lost 
Eden, this is sovereignty regained, and the high- 
est sphere of redeemed manhood. 



HOME WORK. 203 

And all this is only the work of Christian 
teaching, so often crowded into the smallest 
space or made to take the lowest place or alto- 
gether left to hireling hands. But it is the work 
to which Christian teaching in every other form 
is auxiliary and supplemental — the first and great- 
est of all. 

Blinded by the glare of the world's false lights, 
many may still fail to see its infinite moment, its 
supreme grandeur and obligation, and turn the 
work of the home into a life of sordid gains and 
vain ambitions, awaking to the truth only when 
man's work is done. But let all whose eyes 
have been enlightened from above invoke the 
aid of heavenly powers, and with head and heart 
and hands do the home work for eternity. 



204 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXXI. 

Hints for the Home Work. 

Think about it. When the home is valued 
chiefly for the convenience and comfort it 
affords in the struggle for a living, rather than 
for its magnificent opportunities of doing good, 
we may be sure that very little intelligent thought 
has been given to the subject. It is through the 
agency of the Christian home, aided by the 
school, the press, and the pulpit, that the world 
.is to be renovated. Its advantages and respon- 
sibilities in this work have been but vaguely 
comprehended, because not more attentively 
considered. So w T e say, think about it — read 
about it — talk about it. Find out what it is. 
If it is Christian teaching, and the early thor- 
ough training of character for life and immor- 
tality, then look at it until you have some just 
conception of its supreme dignity, importance, 
and obligation. In order to this, look at it in the 
light of God's truth, taking in the whole range 
of the soul's existence through time and eternity. 
Such thought will correct the prevalent mis- 



HINTS FOR THE HOME WORK. 205 

apprehension and depreciation of the home work, 
awaken new and deeper interest, lead to further 
inquiry, and prepare the way for its better per- 
formance. Just views, deep convictions, aroused 
feeling are necessary to efficient action; and 
they all proceed from earnest thought. 

2. Study its material. This is human na- 
ture in each separate specimen, as found in the 
home from the child upward — the mysterious 
composite being so unlike the material of all 
other work. It is mind with its common re- 
semblances and individual peculiarities. But it 
is mind dwelling in, and affected by, bodies 
fearfully and wonderfully made, and so marked 
by peculiarities of constitution and temperament 
that every case presents a distinct and separate 
problem. On this living immortal mind in its 
present actual individual conditions the home 
work is wrought for weal or woe. Here, then, 
is our subject of study.. 

Without some knowledge of it how shall 
we — how dare we — proceed with the work? In 
order to success every-where else, thorough ac- 
quaintance with the material operated upon is 
indispensable. Is it less so here ? Is it less 
necessary for us in the treatment of mind than 
for the workers in brass, or iron, or clay? Ig- 
norance of that with which we deal is often 



206 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

fatal, even though it be accompanied with the 
best intentions and endeavors. It is sufficient 
explanation of the sad and otherwise unaccount- 
able failures observed in so many homes. No 
tender interest or prayerful anxiety for loved 
ones can dispense with the necessity of an intel- 
ligent adaptation of effort to their peculiar indi- 
vidual requirements. 

3. Learn how to do it. No work in the 
world requires studied effort and practiced skill 
more than this; and none receives so little, not 
even bread-making, or cooking a dinner. For 
the latter, the manuals provided in such cases 
must be consulted, and the experiments must be 
carefully conducted under competent direction, 
until in due time the art is acquired. For enter- 
prising workers of every kind, books and jour- 
nals are published, associations are formed, and 
conventions are held to aid in determining the 
best possible method of doing their respective 
work. . Every handicraft involving skill requires 
an apprenticeship, and every profession its school 
of preparatory training. The age demands skilled 
labor, and gives the first place to the practical 
question of means and methods. Indeed, this 
question must be considered in the very least 
and most simple work; how much mo^e, then, 
in the greatest and most difficult of all. 



HINTS FOR THE HOME WORK. 207 

The work upon character in the home is con- 
tinually going on by some method, and of some 
kind, right or wrong ; and it is sure to be fol- 
lowed by corresponding results of success or 
failure. Is not success more important here than 
elsewhere ? If it depends under God upon the 
means and methods employed, let us have the 
very best that can be found. Let us learn from 
the experiments of others. Many utterly fail, 
while some have wonderful success. Why the 
difference? Ascertain by careful inquiry. At- 
tend teachers' institutes of every kind. Parents 
need their instruction and drill quite as much 
as any other teachers. Obtain help from ev- 
ery open source. Especially study the work 
in all its details while doing it, and if possi- 
ble acquire perfect mastery of the great art of 
teaching. 

4. Take time for it. Do not suffer the minor 
duties of the household, or the cares of business, 
to rob the home of its own peculiar work — its 
highest glory and most sacred privilege. Such 
robbery is a crime before God and man, and 
will surely be visited with untold calamity. 
Duty, like charity and every other good, begins 
at home. Neglect other interests, if need, be, 
for this. Let the work of mutual improvement 
have a special allotment of time. Give it a 



208 HALF HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

prominent place in the programme of life, and 
make all other things tributary to it. 

And wait not for more favorable circum- 
stances. Now is the accepted time. God gives 
it for this very purpose, and . has appointed 
bounds that we can not pass. Sickness and 
death come to the home, and can not be post- 
poned or evaded on account of business. And 
even though life be protracted to its utmost 
limits, the home circle will soon be broken up. 
Our loved ones are going from us out into the 
great world, to encounter its temptations, and 
undergo the severest tests of character. What 
is done must be done quickly. The time for the 
home work is passing, and will soon be gone 
forever. Seize it, then, if it be only in frag- 
ments. Use it now, while you may, for the 
work whose results shall outlast all time. 

5. Be what it requires. This last, but not 
least — this above all the rest. Whether the pre- 
ceding hints are observed or not, in any case 
what we are tells the story — it has more to do 
than all besides. 

The greatest moral force in the world is that 
of real character ; and nowhere is it greater than 
in the home. Here it obtains full scope by the 
freedom from restraint and the intimacy of con- 
stant association peculiar to the home life, and 



HINTS FOR THE HOME WORK. 20g 

is manifested by the consequent powerful tend- 
ency to mutual assimilation. Its subtle influ- 
ence penetrates all disguises, and exposes all 
hypocrisies. It even counteracts, if it does not 
confirm, both precept and example. Whatever 
our professions, counsels, or external deport- 
ment, we are known in the home if nowhere 
else for what we are — known as by a sort of 
intuition by even the younger children. 

This influence of character emanates from, 
and operates upon, every one of the circle, the 
stern strong man and the innocent little one on 
his knee, the ever-present mother and the visitor 
of a day. It is a kind of atmosphere, in which all 
live, and move, and have their being. However 
hidden and mysterious the process may be, the 
effects are palpable, unmistakable, and always 
in keeping with their causes. In this, as in 
every thing else, like begets like. Thus, silently, 
perhaps unconsciously, and yet steadily and de- 
cisively are we doing our home work. 

May God help us to be what he requires for 
a place in his own family below and above — like 
Christ. 

M 



2IO HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXXII. 

True Value of Amusements. 

THE subject is of too great extent and im- 
portance for adequate treatment in a brief 
chapter. We therefore offer only a few words 
with the hope of at least suggesting an answer to 
some of the perplexing questions which naturally 
arise in every one's life, and are frequently re- 
ferred for a safe decision to Christian parents and 
teachers. 

It will not do in this case to accept the maxim 
that "a thing is worth what it will bring/' Some 
regard must be had to intrinsic excellence and 
adaptation to a good and useful purpose. 

It is precisely at this point that the great mis- 
take occurs. Amusements are treated as a com- 
modity, and their popular valuation is determined, 
in no small degree, by the "prices current. " The 
market, where the prices are fixed, is a specula- 
tive one, ruled by the clamorous demands of fash- 
ion, caprice, and lust. In their joint and several 
interests factitious values are assigned to the ar- 
ticles in trade, and imposed upon the world as 



TRUE VALUE OF AMUSEMENTS. 2 1 1 

"quotations of the market," and therefore reli- 
able. Like certain " fancy stocks," the things in 
question may command a high premium, and be 
eagerly sought for even at the risk of fame and 
fortune, peace and purity, honor and heaven. 
Judged by the standard of the price so often paid, 
they might be deemed of wondrous worth ; but 
they can deceive only the unsuspecting and 
thoughtless. Really, they are dissipations and 
follies under the false and specious guise of 
amusements — the worst and most miserable of 
cheats. They are valuable only in the service 
of Satan, where they lure to destruction by the 
attractions offered in the excitement and gratifi- 
cation of depraved tastes. 

In view of this assumed monopoly and utter 
perversion of amusement, so called, it is not 
strange that the sober-minded should come to 
look with suspicion upon every thing bearing the 
name. But, however public opinion may be im- 
posed upon in the matter, there are, after all, sim- 
ple, genuine, wholesome amusements, for which 
the title should be claimed exclusively in the in- 
terests of the true, the right, and the good. Like 
the innocent sports of childhood, they command 
no exorbitant price, and may never come into 
market at all; but they are within easy reach of 
all who need them, and form a part of God's 



212 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

great bounty for the wealth of the world. It is 
the part of wisdom, then, to discriminate between 
the false and the true, and to accept what God 
gives at its proper value — that which he has as- 
signed. 

To determine this value is not difficult when 
once the question is brought within the domain 
of reason and conscience in the sight of God. Its 
standard is found, not in the popular demand or 
the market price, but in the gift itself, its nature 
and purpose, or obvious adaptation to our real 
wants. 

Without doubt, in some measure amusements 
are necessary for all, in every period and condi- 
tion of life, in order to perfect soundness, vigor, 
and elasticity of both body and mind. This ne- 
cessity seems to be founded upon a well-known 
law of our nature; namely, that no mental or 
physical tension, whether occasioned by active 
effort or passive endurance, can be uninterrupt- 
edly maintained for any great length of time 
without injury more or less serious. Some re- 
laxation is indispensable. It is obtained in pro- 
found sleep, God's beneficent provision for this 
very end. But restful, refreshing sleep is not 
always possible when needed the most. Some- 
thing more is often required for the full reinvig- 
oration of overtasked nerves. This is amuse- 



TRUE VALUE OF AMUSEMENTS. 213 

ment, consisting essentially in the relief of tension 
by an exhilarating change of employment. Some- 
times the mere change is sufficient for the pur- 
pose; but ordinarily it must be from a previous 
employment to one which is not only different, 
but easy and delightful, diverting the whole cur- 
rent of thought, and exhilarating without ex- 
hausting. Such, v/e may safely conclude, is the 
divinely authorized method of relief. 

If genuine amusements are of this nature, and 
have this effect, their value in promoting our en- 
tire well-being can hardly be overrated, and their 
proper use is clearly indicated. 

Of course, they can never be made an exclus- 
ive business, nor in the intervals of business be 
carried to the point of exhaustion, without losing 
their distinctive character. And they have no 
peculiar purpose to serve in behalf of the indo- 
lent. They rightfully belong to the busy, toiling 
millions, who pause to gather new strength amid 
the responsibilities and work of life, or sink weary 
and broken by their burdens. Accordingly they 
are employed with success as a restorative agent 
in the treatment of the insane, and for many 
others constitute the best preventive of insanity. 
When duly regulated, they quicken the develop- 
ment of childhood, preserve and perpetuate the 
vigor of maturity, check the advances of decrepi- 



214 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Hide and old age, and tend to alleviate in some 
degree the burden, strain, and agony of life at 
every period. In a world of toil and pain they 
are of priceless value, and become the humble 
ally of religion itself. They should, therefore, 
be provided in ample measure for every home, 
and have an honored place at the side of all 
work. 

Hut, to prevent deterioration and to secure 
their highest benefits, the most careful attention 
must be paid to their due regulation. And this 
is to be accomplished chiefly by rcgulati)ig the 
lieart, Failure at this point is the beginning of 
all trouble and evil, and satisfactorily accounts 
for the difficulty experienced in attempting to 
purify and elevate the world's recreations. When 
we take delight only in what is true and right, 
pure and good, when our tastes and desires arc 
simple, unperverted, and regulated by love to 
God and man, we adjust with equal ease and 
safety our labors and our amusements. A heart 
in which Christ reigns supreme iii light and love 
is a wonderfully effective test in all such matters, 
and we would have little hesitation in submitting 
every case to its decision. 

But if any formal rule is required, it may be 
this: Let every one be fully persuaded in his 
own mind that the amusement in question is 



TRUE VALUE OF AMUSEMENTS. 215 

productive of no evil or injury of any kind or 

degree to himself or others, and has at least the 
positive good of a pleasant relaxation from toil. 
Thus prepared for amusements, we shall find 
innumerable resources at our command, and shall 
never be betrayed into a. false acknowledgment 
of our poverty by going upon forbidden ground 
in quest of the doubtful or wrong. 



2l6 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXXIII. 

The Best Investment. 

IN this country nearly every body is more or 
less concerned in making investments, for 
the reason that nearly every body has something 
to invest. Conditions here are so favorable to 
honest industry that in ordinary times some- 
thing can generally be saved over and above the 
expenses of a frugal support. The amount in 
any one case may at first be small in itself; but 
it is relatively great, being all, and is likely to 
awaken more concern respecting its proper dis- 
posal than a much larger sum at another time. 
That small savings, as well as large surplus 
capital, require suitable investment, is evident 
from the remarkable number and prosperity of 
the savings-banks throughout the country, their 
immense funds being the gradual accumulation 
of very small deposits. These are banks for the 
people — for "the million" rather than the mill- 
ionaire. When the Government loans were at 
different times thrown upon the market, they 
were taken up by all classes of people, and in 



THE BEST INVESTMENT. 217 

bonds of all denominations from ten thousand 
dollars down to fifty. The fifty-dollar bond was 
a wise recognition of the popular demand. 

Besides these personal savings from the reg- 
ular proceeds of business, we must also take into 
account the vast amount of funds held in trust 
for various purposes, as by guardians for minor 
heirs, and by financial boards for the benefit of 
colleges, hospitals, and other chartered institu- 
tions. All such funds are put in trust for invest- 
ment in behalf of their beneficiaries, who are 
numerous and dependent ; and any person worthy 
of being a trustee is likely to feel even a greater 
responsibility than if only his own private inter- 
ests were involved. Thus, in one way or an- 
other, the question of investments becomes a 
matter of almost universal concern. 

Hoarding being out of the question, — since 
it is in every respect a "bad business," a sort 
of hiding of one's talents in a napkin, — and the 
making of an investment having been resolved 
upon, the first thing to be determined is its kind 
or form, and then its place ; and there are many 
from which to choose. Shall it be in bank de- 
posits, in dividend -paying stocks, in bonds or 
promissory notes bearing interest, in productive 
real estate, in the operations of business — or in 
something different from all these? 



2l8 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

To effect the choice, and complete the work 
wisely and well, is often no easy task, especially 
in periods of financial excitement or disturbance. 
At any time the circumstances of the case need 
to be very carefully considered, such as the pur- 
poses to be served, the different advantages 
offered, and a variety of incidental details. An 
important consideration in many cases is perma- 
nence, to avoid the trouble of frequent reinvest- 
ments, and also promptness of payments, to pre- 
vent annoying disappointments. Two things are 
indispensable, for obvious reasons ; namely, pro- 
ductiveness, and security against depreciation 
and loss. Of course, the object is profit in 
money — generally, though not always. As an 
object it is entirely legitimate ; and the practice 
of making investments with that in view should 
be encouraged, especially with the young, and 
with people of moderate means. But, granting 
all this, the question still remains whether there 
is not something else possibly better. 

A young man — a boy he would once have 
been called — comes to the forks of the road, and 
must choose his future course. Shall he go im- 
mediately into business, or to college? Shall he 
acquire a liberal education, or an early fortune? 
He has both time and money — rather more of 
the former than the latter — for either investment. 



THE BEST INVESTMENT. 219 

It is a matter of grave deliberation ; but, with 
the aid of a little friendly counsel, it is happily 
decided, and he goes to college. His young 
friend, of about the same age, circumstances, 
and natural capacity, chooses the opposite course. 
The one makes his first principal investment in 
in self-culture, the other in the operations of 
business. Both are of good moral character, 
and prosper in their undertakings. 

At the end of twenty years we may compare 
the profits realized. In personal influence and 
usefulness, and perhaps in social position, the 
early student is now the recognized superior, by 
virtue of his greater knowledge and culture. In 
respect to personal happiness, also, it may be 
supposed that he has the advantage of his former 
friend ; for he has additional and higher sources 
of enjoyment. As to property, he has nearly 
made up for the time apparently lost at the 
beginning ; at any rate, he has enough for all 
practical purposes, and the ability to get more. 
Has he any reason for regret? Not at all, he 
thinks, but rather for abundant satisfaction and 
rejoicing. He chose a good part, which shall 
never be taken away from him. He invested in 
liimself, and his investment has every desirable 
quality, — permanence, promptness of returns, 
the richest productiveness, and safety forever 



220 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

assured, We commend his choice to all in like 
circumstances. 

Children, however, are not always allowed 
to choose freely for themselves, as in the case 
just supposed. During the more profitable part 
of their minority both time and money may be 
claimed by the father ; and earlier in life they 
are necessarily subject to his direction". In any 
case, therefore, the question comes up for pa- 
rental concurrence or decision. 

What, then, is the best investment the father 
can make for the sons and daughters still under 
his care? Is it merely or mainly in property, 
to be hereafter inherited, and perhaps lost? or, 
rather, in the current expenses of the best pos- 
sible education of head and heart and hands, 
placing their fortunes in themselves? If there 
is no money for such expenses, and every effort 
is required to keep the wolf from the door, even 
then the question may be considered ; for cir- 
cumstances often change, and in the very pinch- 
ings of poverty the best investment is not alto- 
gether impossible. 

Happily, it is not money alone that secures 
the desired culture. From the humblest abodes 
of loving toil and intelligent care many a boy 
has gone forth rich in all the elements of a noble 
Christian manhood, and bearing the tenderest 



THE BEST INVESTMENT. 221 

memories of him or her who nourished their 
earliest development. Nothing is so effective in 
deciding the future man as the moral atmosphere 
of parental influence, the reigning ideas and spirit 
of the early home. If these are of the highest 
Christian type, they insure all possible aid from 
the use of money as it is acquired, and the ap- 
propriation of time also, even if it must be 
wrung from the exactions of business. 

It is well indeed that time and money may 
be invested in the due preparation of young im- 
mortals for their future responsibilities. The 
prosperous man of business, who devotes its 
principal profits to the attractions of his home 
and the best education of his children, may not 
be able to accumulate property like some of his 
neighbors, who sacrifice every thing to accumu- 
lation ; but in. all sober judgment he does what 
is infinitely better, — performs his duty as a father, 
gains for himself a more affluent life, and leaves 
at his death an enduring and priceless patrimony. 

But the question proposed is one of very 
general concern in all the relations of life and 
its general consideration is especially appropriate 
at a time when investments of every kind are 
undergoing the severest tests. The instability of 
riches and the risks of business are perhaps no 
greater now than heretofore, but they are having 



222 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

some very striking illustrations when the best 
securities become unavailable, and the largest 
accumulation of assets affords no protection 
against embarrassment and loss. Besides, the 
recent general prosperity of the country has de- 
veloped an unusual tendency, not only to specu- 
lation and extravagance, but to an exaggerated 
estimate of the value of property, and a compar- 
ative depreciation of mere personal worth. This 
tendency has been signally checked and rebuked 
by the appearance of its inevitable results. With 
almost daily reports of defalcations, embezzle- 
ments, and startling corruption in places of re- 
sponsibility and trust, genuine character is likely 
to be better appreciated, both in its intrinsic 
superiority to property and in its commercial 
importance as a necessary condition of the safety 
of property. 

If we are able to read the great lesson of the 
times, it is, Sterling wealth of personal character 
the first and the best investment. 



ACTION AND COUNTERACTION. 223 



XXXIV. 

Action and Counteraction. 

ONLY two words — action and counteraction — 
but they epitomize history, condense proph- 
ecy, and represent the world. They express the 
great practical antithesis of every age, the fact of 
conflict in all human life. Perhaps the single 
word counteraction would be sufficient, since it 
implies both action and conflict. But the thing 
signified is the matter of importance. 

Counteraction has an origin and history quite 
in keeping with its true character. It began in 
Eden when Satan withstood the Almighty, and, 
succeeding in part through the defection of the 
first pair, it thenceforward made the earth its 
arena, and left its traces in the very soil which 
it cursed. Under the same leadership it* is still 
continued against every good work with infinite 
woe to the world. Finding abundant support 
among men, it combines the service of all evil 
to resist all good with a persistency which only 
the devil can inspire. Not content with merely 
negative results, it has evil seed of its own to sow, 



224 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

but meantime loses no opportunity of catching 
away or destroying the good, and freely employs 
any method adapted to its purpose. 

But, whatever the form assumed, it is directed 
principally against the truth of God, as at the Be- 
ginning, and is in itself every-where and always a 
lie, begotten by the father of lies. Since the 
bruising of the serpent's head, counteraction con- 
centrates all its malignity and power upon "the 
truth as it is in Jesus." To defeat the communi- 
cation and influence of the truth that saves is now 
the one great object in view. 

On this issue the struggle proceeds between 
action and counteraction, and is carried into the 
life of every human being. 

It begins in childhood or with the first com- 
munication of truth, at the very beginning of the 
influence of truth upon the heart and the will. 
The attitude voluntarily taken and maintained 
then or at any subsequent period definitely set- 
tles the question in every case. It must be either 
acquiescence or resistance. To receive and cher- 
ish the truth, to give it root in the affections, 
growth in the character, and fruit in the life, is 
the highest order of action. To do otherwise at 
any point is to become a party to counteraction. 
The struggle goes on until the soul becomes 
"good ground," or is given over to a state of utter 



ACTION AND COUNTERACTION. 225 

hardness, sterility, and thorns. Each individual 
must decide for himself the issue which involves 
his own character, action, and destiny. 

But in this struggle and final decision Chris- 
tian parents and teachers and all who can exert 
any influence for the truth are parties deeply in- 
terested. They hold the truth for the very pur- 
pose of dissemination, and may even do some- 
thing toward the preparation of the soil for its 
reception. But in all its variety of condition the 
field is before them awaiting tillage. The labor 
doubtless is arduous; but is not duty plain? 

When the "sower went forth to sow," it was 
not to feed the birds, to clothe with temporary 
verdure the stony places, nor to compete with 
thorns. Through the successive stages of germi- 
nation, growth, and maturity he saw only the 
future harvest. Was he successful? "Some 
seed fell into good ground, and brought forth 
fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold." So far 
there was success; for the rest failure came by 
counteraction. Did'not the "hundred fold" war- 
rant the sowing? Did not success justify action 
notwithstanding partial failure? Must all action 
cease because of possible or probable counterac- 
tion? How, then, shall a harvest ever be reaped? 

So the "sower went forth to sow," and in like 
manner every sower since has sowed. The seeds 

i5 



226 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

are devoured by the fowls of the air ; the growth 
of early promise is scorched and withers away; 
the ripening grain is choked by luxuriant thorns ; 
at every stage the work is beset with difficulties; 
but the sower reaps at last. Action steadily 
pursued, with the end in view, through all coun- 
teraction gains its final reward in the joy of the 
harvest. 

In the feebleness of human effort it is well to 
know that the Word of God is seed as well as 
nutriment; that it has life in itself inclosing the 
possibilities of a future harvest, and is therefore 
capable of taking on action of its own, succeed- 
ing that of the sower. The simple act of teach- 
ing, so liable to be counteracted by adverse 
influences, may in given conditions be supple- 
mented by action of a higher order, which shall 
insure success. "God giveth the increase." 

There is certainly encouragement in this; but 
there is responsibility also. The increase is con- 
tingent upon the sowing, whether the ground be 
good or bad. Uncommunicated truth is power- 
less, like the seed in the garner. Its possibilities 
of germination and growth are held in check at 
the very beginning, in advance of all liabilities 
from the fowls of the air or the rocks and thorns 
of the field. Inaction on the part of appointed 
teachers is counteraction in its worst form, leav- 



ACTION AND COUNTERACTION. 227 

ing not a single chance for the harvest. It at 
once arrests the purpose, and prevents the bless- 
ing of Him who gave the truth to be communi- 
cated amid all the exposures incident to such a 
field as the world, with the accompanying promise 
that if sent forth upon its mission his "word 
should not return unto Him void." 

Action, then, is necessary. Nothing can be 
hoped for without it. The work must go on 
despite the difficulties and hinderances actively or 
passively interposed. The good seed must be 
scattered over the whole field with a lavish hand. 
The "word of the kingdom" must be taught in 
the family, the Sunday-school, the pulpit, every- 
where, with mingled hope and fear, but with 
such carefulness of skill and profusion of effort 
as to reduce to the lowest point the liability of 
failure. No alternative is left but action over- 
whelming counteraction, the patient continuance 
of toil far and wide from the early morning unto 
the latest evening. 

For the very reason that some of the seed 
may be catched away or fail to reach its perfect 
fruit, scatter it with the more liberal hand, and 
bestow upon it the more careful culture, "always 
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch 
as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the 
Lord." 



228 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XXXV. 

Bridge the Chasms! 

DOES any one ask, what chasms ? Those 
which hold aloof one human being from 
another — the old from the young, the rich from 
the poor, the wise from the foolish, the good 
from the bad. 

The natural differences of age, capacity, and 
circumstances in life; the moral differences of 
tastes and habits, of education and character; the 
conventional distinctions established by selfish- 
ness and pride — all these are, not of necessity 
but in effect, so many great gulfs of separation. 
Natural and moral differences among men cer- 
tainly impose no necessity for keeping them 
asunder, and indeed constitute the very reason 
for bringing them together ; but, instead of 
merely marking distinctions, they are allowed 
in many cases to prevent all near appro'ach or 
friendly and beneficial intercourse. 

And these chasms abound throughout soci- 
ety — separating individuals, families, Churches, 
communities, and nations. Often invisible and 



BRIDGE THE CHASMS! 229 

perhaps unsuspected, they exist even between 
persons living together in the same household, 
or long associated in business. But whether 
seen and recognized or not, they are as numer- 
ous, varied, and real as the huge rents and 
fissures of the earth's surface. Perhaps they 
have the same, or a similar, origin in disturbing 
forces and internal convulsions. At any rate, 
they are stubborn facts, and must be treated 
accordingly. 

But what can be done? Just what has been 
done in thousands of analogous cases. Close up 
the chasms, or at least throw over bridges. By 
some means bring mind into contact with mind 
upon terms of mutual sympathy and confidence. 

Is this impossible? Civil engineering has 
encountered its greatest difficulties, and won its 
grandest triumphs in opening free intercommu- 
nication over the earth's surface. Bridges for 
thought, bridges for commerce, bridges for the 
world's living freight span the mountain gorges 
and even the deep chasms of the ocean. Secular 
enterprise finds its way every-where, despite the 
most formidable obstructions. Shall moral en- 
gineering fall behind the age, and exhibit less of 
skill and success ? It is not a question of util- 
izing the forces and materials of nature under 
the direction of natural science, but it is equally 



230 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIEE. 

within the scope of human genius and energy 
guided by divine wisdom. Moral forces and 
appliances are certainly subject to the power of 
Him who ordained them, and are therefore at 
the command of men when engaged in his service 
and doing his bidding. If necessary to the ac- 
complishment of his will it is fully within our 
ability to bridge the chasms. 

And this is just what is most imperatively 
demanded for the welfare of the race. So long 
as restrictions are laid upon the commerce of 
truth and the free intercourse of minds and hearts 
between different classes of mankind, so long will 
the true riches remain undistributed to the serious 
loss and injury of all concerned. In fact, these 
chasms are unmitigated evils, and require prompt 
remedy. They arrest the very process by w r hich 
the richest gift of heaven, the bread of life, is 
conveyed to perishing souls. They interpose 
the most effectual barriers to the progress of the 
Gospel; and, unless they are surmounted, human 
agency will be of little avail for the salvation of 
the world. 

In heathen countries the missionary encounters 
at every point a system of caste which relent- 
lessly divides the entire population by numerous 
chasms so deep and wide as to be quite impass- 
able. Across these he and his helpers must 



BRIDGE THE CHASMS! . 23 1 

deliver their message under the greatest disad- 
vantages, and with very limited success, until 
the system is abolished or bridges are built. 

The home missionary in our great cities finds 
vast numbers of outcasts, almost inaccessible by 
reason of the distrust and hopelessness incident 
to their social condition; and, if he succeeds 
at all, it is only by passing the gulf, and going 
among them as a brother. 

Among the more intelligent and virtuous por- 
tions of society a vast amount of labor is lost 
by never reaching its proper objects. Multitudes 
of respectable people never attend Church, even 
where the sermons are eloquent and the accom- 
modations spacious, on account of some inter- 
vening chasm. They are never reached in their 
homes or places of business by suitable Christian 
effort, and spend the whole of life under the 
influence of misapprehensions and prejudices 
which might have been corrected by simply 
crossing a bridge. 

Many of the best and ablest ministers exert 
only a tithe of their proper and possible influ- 
ence, because of professional isolation, and the 
difficulty of intimate association and acquaint- 
ance. From the pulpit and in society they hold 
communication with the people from a distance 
over an unbridged chasm. 



232 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Large bodies of Christians, constituting evan- 
gelical Churches, are as widely separated as lofty 
mountain peaks — touching only at their base. 

Families, living in the larger towns, know 
and care as little for their next door neighbors 
as if they were their antipodes. 

Even among members of the same family 
there is often little of hearty sympathy and mu- 
tual understanding and fellowship. Especially 
is this the case between parents and children — a 
cold unsympathetic reserve on the one side, dis- 
trust and deceit on the other, and all mutual 
influence for good lost in the chasm. 

In the Sunday-school, also, teachers have 
little power because of the unbridged space 
between them and childhood — many of them 
never really reaching the hearts of their pupils. 

The great lack every-where is nearness of ap- 
proach, some means of connection — a bridge for 
the chasm. 

How to supply the lack we may learn from 
Him, whose love spanned the awful chasm opened 
by the rebellion of his creatures, who himself 
passed the infinite distance and went about doing 
good — the "friend of publicans and sinners." 



PERFECT COMMUNITY. 233 



XXXVI. 

Perfect Community. 

THE primary meaning of terms in common 
use is often exceedingly suggestive. Thus, 
common, communicate, communion, and commu- 
nity are branches of the same stock, and have a 
common root in words which signify ready to be 
of service together. As the branches are pene- 
trated and rendered fruitful by sap from the 
roots, so the things signified by these terms 
derive their very life from readiness for mutual 
service. 

Without this spirit little can be possessed or 
enjoyed in common, communication and com- 
munion are kept within the narrowest limits, 
and no real community can ever exist. This is 
the distinguishing and vital element of true civ- 
ilization, in the progress of which it gradually 
becomes a controlling force, and by its own 
spontaneous action secures the general welfare. 
Because so many of the people are not ready to 
be of service together, the enforcement of law is 
necessary for the promotion and defense of the 



234 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

common interest, and the body politic, or soci- 
ety at large, is only a very imperfect form of 
community. 

From the very nature of the case, the true 
idea of society can never be fully realized until 
human hearts are purged of the multiform self- 
ishness, from which all disturbing and destructive 
forces proceed. In short, the spirit of mutual 
regard and service must become a pervading and 
controlling power in human life. 

Happily for the world, the kingdom of God 
is a perfect community, specially adapted to 
the case. 

With the Lord Jesus Christ as Head over 
all, it is formed of an innumerable company of 
angels in general assembly, the spirits of just 
men made perfect, and the Church of the first- 
born enrolled in heaven; but opening earthward 
it includes also the whole multitude of true be- 
lievers, who are kept in training here for higher 
honors in the heavenly state. True to its essen- 
tial character, it seeks continual enlargement, 
and proposes on certain conditions to absorb the 
entire race. 

This community is none the less real because 
invisible in part; and though its rights, priv- 
ileges, and interests may not be regarded as 
strictly civil, political, or ecclesiastical, they are 



PERFECT COMMUNITY. 235 

nevertheless of the highest order, and of tran- 
scendent value. In the very fact that they are 
spiritual consists their superior excellence. 

Whatever is common to the members of this 
community belongs to the nature of rational and 
immortal spirits, and is derived to the souls of 
men through Jesus, the Mediator of the new 
covenant. By his intervention in our behalf the 
kingdom of heaven is opened below and above 
for the common possession and enjoyment of 
angels and men. 

The terms of admission are in perfect keeping 
with its great purpose. They make no distinc- 
tion between old and young, rich and poor, wise 
and simple. Consisting of personal surrender 
in filial penitence and loving trust, they are only 
such as the nature of the case requires, and 
come within easy reach of all alike. 

Answering to these terms is the process of 
induction, which was fully exhibited as an exam- 
ple to the world, first in Jerusalem, and after- 
ward at Csesarea. When the Son of God had 
opened the way by the sacrifice of himself, and 
as Lord over his own house had resumed his 
throne on high, he bestowed the gift of power. 
As the Holy Spirit came from heaven the whole 
multitude of them that believed — embracing 
Jews and devout men out of every nation under 



236 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

heaven — were of one heart and one soul. Their 
having all things common for a time, under the 
emergencies of the occasion, was the spontane- 
ous product and proof of their common endow- 
ment by one Spirit. This process was repeated 
and duly authenticated when the centurion and 
other Gentiles received the same mft of the Holv 
Ghost. Then strangers and foreigners were made 
nio-h bv the blood of Christ. 

The exact formula is given by the Hebrew 
of the Hebrews who went forth an apostle to all 
the people: "By one Spirit are we all baptized 
into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 
whether we be bond or free; and have been all 
made to drink into one Spirit." By such process 
of divine power all impediments to a perfect 
community were removed, and men of the most 
diverse character and culture were, fully trans- 
formed and made partakers of a common life; 
and such is still the indispensable, and the only 
effective, method. 

Although this community is called a king- 
dom, no kingdom of the nations can be taken 
as its type. It is constituted after the pattern 
of things in the heavens, and has no likeness 
on earth except that of the loving family, or 
the living bodv, in each of which all the mem- 
bers sustain vital relations to one head, and 



PERFECT COMMUNITY. 237 

have common interests, mutual sympathy, and a 
single aim. 

So perfect is the community of this spiritual 
kingdom or family, that it is fitly represented as 
the very body of Christ. 

Here He is supreme, the soul and life of all, 
communicating the blood current and the nerve 
power. He appoints the place and work of 
every member, bestows the more abundant 
honor upon that part which lacked, and so tem- 
pers all parts together that there should be no 
schism in the body. Thus the members have 
the same care one for another ; and if one mem- 
ber suffers all the members suffer ; or if x>ne is 
honored all rejoice. 

By the essential nature of this body love is 
both law and life — the law of liberty,, and the 
life of joyful obedience. And all who are thus 
joined to Christ, without losing their distinctive 
individuality, are animated by one common im- 
pulse to be of service together, and enter into 
a perfect community of thought, feeling, and 
labor. 

This is the only true and right condition for 
human beings, as answering the purpose of Infi- 
nite Wisdom in their creation. It is the highest 
state possible — the "New Jerusalem coming 
down from God out of heaven." It comprises 



238 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

all the riches and glory which God himself can 
bestow, and yet it is freely opened to the whole 
world. All who enter and take possession learn, 
in the light of the Spirit and Word, the truth 
which no language can express. And not the 
least of their discoveries in this common inher- 
itance of the saints is the great fact of the com- 
munion of kindred spirits, the mutual service of 
communication, and, between earth and heaven, 
God and man, a perfect community. 



< MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR." 239 



XXXVII, 

"Members in Particular. " 

IT is a fact of no little interest that in the per- 
fect community, briefly sketched in the pre- 
ceding chapter, individuality attains its highest 
place and power. 

It would be strange indeed were it otherwise. 
Every-where else throughout the universe group- 
ing together brings out and distinguishes the in- 
dividual, and nothing is ever perfectly complete 
except when in suitable relations to other things. 

Thus the earth, if removed from its present 
place in the solar system, would lose at once its 
distinctive character. By a very slight change 
of its relations to the sun it would be rendered 
wholly unfit for the habitation of man, and be- 
come quite another kind of planet. 

So also in the human body numerous distinct 
organs are brought together, no one of which 
would be the same out of its appointed place. 
Pluck out the eye, and it is an eye no longer. 
Cut off the hand, and, though it were preserved 
from all other changes, it ceases to be a hand. 



240 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

The foot and the hand are distinguished by indi- 
vidual, differences not merely of structure, but 
much more of position and use in the body, and 
the same is true of all the different members. 
Every part is valuable and necessary by virtue 
of the purpose it serves in behalf of the whole — 
the foot because it is a foot, the hand by being 
a hand, the eye by seeing, and the ear by hearing. 

''The eye can not say unto the hand, I have 
no need of thee ; nor again the head to the feet, 
I have no need of you. If the whole body were 
an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole 
body were hearing, where w T ere the smelling? 
But now hath God set the members, every one of 
them, in the body as it hath pleased him. And 
if they were all one member, where were the 
body? But now are they many members, yet but 
one body." 

Thus perfect community not only requires, 
but actually secures perfect individuality. 

Such is the fundamental law of the universe, 
the order which God himself has established; 
and nowhere is it more imperative or effectual 
than in the great spiritual community addressed 
in the words, "Now ye are the body of Christ, 
and members in particular " As a test of condi- 
tion and a rule of action it has for all men the 
authority and value of an infallible standard. It 



"MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR." 24 1 

is, in fact, the one great law of individual develop- 
ment and usefulness, according to which every- 
one must find his true place and perform his own 
part in absolute subjection to the supreme Head, 
and in perfect concord with all the parts. Every 
one doing this contributes the largest possible 
amount to the common welfare, and at the same 
time promotes in the highest degree his own hap- 
piness and growth. 

But this consummation is reached only in "the 
body of Christ/' for the sufficient reason that it 
is the only perfect community. Here all living 
and true members occupy their respective places 
by divine appointment, and, while forming one 
body, have the noblest aim and the widest scope 
for the exercise of all their individual powers. 
The body itself liberates, exalts, nourishes, and 
employs "in particular" the members of which it 
is composed. By its very constitution as the 
work of God, and of all his works the nearest to 
himself, it is the most perfect illustration of the 
law that the individual secures the largest free- 
dom and development by devotion to the great- 
est good of the community and the glory of the 
Lord of all. 

Opposed to all this is the spirit of selfishness, 

which seeks gratification at any expense. It is 

essentially incompatible with community, and con- 

16 



242 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

tinually tends to the subversion alike of corporate 
rights and of individual interests. In direct con- 
flict with God and his law, it necessarily defeats 
its own purpose, narrows the life, cramps the 
soul, and is the very essence of sin. 

Of course, then, selfishness is wholly foreign 
to the body of Christ, in the very formation of 
which it yields to the spirit of comprehensive be- 
nevolence. Whenever it reappears, as is some- 
times the case, it must be regarded as a local 
affection of members in particular, a disease inci- 
dent to their individual imperfection, and attribu- 
table to loss of vitality. It may take the form of 
murmurings, envyings, ambition of place, arro- 
gance of superiority, and the like; but it is al- 
ways the same, and is absolutely fatal to member- 
ship. It consigns the part affected to a withered 
condition in formal connection with the body, or 
to the rottenness of total separation. Particular 
exemption from an evil so deadly in its effects 
is secured by maintaining a living connection 
with the Head and habitual activity in the com- 
mon service. Thus, by the operation of the or- 
ganic law of the body of Christ, every thing is 
excluded which can impair the health and vigor 
of members in particular. In short, the Holy 
Spirit, which animates the community, also im- 
parts life and power to the individual. 



"MEMBERS IN PARTICULAR." 243 

In a body thus constituted the place assigned 
to any member in particular must be the highest 
and best for such member. Otherwise less wis- 
dom is displayed here than in the inferior physi- 
cal organization. "If the foot shall say, Because 
I am not the hand I am not of the body, is it 
therefore not of the body?" The one is needed 
quite as much as the other. And how would 
the foot, by change of place, serve the purpose 
of the hand ? So in the body of Christ every 
real member has just the right place, if it be 
true that "from him the whole body is fitly 
joined together and compacted by that which 
every joint supplieth, and according to the ef- 
fectual working in the measure of every part 
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying 
of itself in love." 

Nothing is so unreasonable and schismatic as 
dissatisfaction with the divine appointment. The 
only question for the member is that of the best 
possible service, with implicit trust in the wisdom 
which determines the kind. Whatever the place 
may be, if within the body it -is enough. Here 
it has a work in particular, the effectual doing 
of which is necessary to the common edifica- 
tion. And no part is so humble or obscure as 
to be left without care, love, and honor from 
the Head. If uncomely and unseen, like the 



244 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

vital physical organs, they are even more neces- 
sary than the most conspicuous; and though 
seeming to be less honorable, they receive the 
more abundant honor. It is the work well done, 
rather than the place in which it is done, that 
secures present approval and final reward. 

Now if the body is not one member, but 
many members with particular differences, then 
the individuality of such members is absolutely 
indispensable and must be preserved. It must 
be cultivated and called into place and power. 
The sound Scriptural philosophy of increase con- 
sists in securing a full supply and an effectual 
working according to the measure of every part. 
Individual development is corporate growth, and 
difference of the parts is completeness of the 
whole. The peculiar endowments and functions 
of any member are benefits for the entire body. 

Let no man, therefore, either despise or covet 
another's gifts. Let no one expect his own work 
to be done by others or insist that they shall be 
altogether like himself. No one should ever 
take another as a standard of self-measurement, 
or regard his own peculiarities and labors as being 
without purpose and value. Every one should be 
fully himself by having the Spirit of Christ, and 
make the most of his own abilities by using 
them- all in the work of Christ. 



VARIETY IN UNITY OF WORK. 245 



XXXVIII. 

Variety in Unity of Work. 

EPLURIBUS UNUM" is infinitely more 
than a grand national motto, condensing 
the philosophy of free institutions, and rendered 
doubly sacred by the cost of its maintenance 
and the history of. its benefits. It belongs to the 
seal of God himself, and is stamped upon all the 
works of his hand. 

The universe throughout its vast variety of 
countless worlds is constituted one by an all- 
pervading presence and power. On our own 
small planet 

"The earth, the ocean, and the sky, 
To form one world agree; 
Where all that walk, or swim, or fly, 
Compose one family." 

From apparently incongruous elements and 
numerous different parts man himself is formed, 
and is conscious of the unity of his being. He 
has been styled ''the universe in miniature, " an 
epitomized Cosmos, because in his organization 
the materials are collected from widely varied 



246 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

sources and combined in wonderful order and 
harmony. 

For the same reason the perfect human body, 
made one by the indwelling soul, is used as a 
fitting symbol of the perfect spiritual community 
called "the body of Christ." In this, the great- 
est work of God, the impress of the seal is most 
conspicuous. Here, as we have seen in former 
chapters, the one is composed of the many ; 
unity is formed out of variety ; and difference of 
the parts is completeness of the whole. 

Now it can not for a moment be supposed 
that such a body is left in a world like this with- 
out full and appropriate employment. Indeed, 
the most important fact, next to its organization, 
is the work for which it is designed. 

The Lord Jesus declared in the days of his 
incarnation, "My Father worketh hitherto, and 
I work." Having devoted to the work of sacri- 
fice and mediation the single human body pre- 
pared for that purpose, he provided another to 
serve in the propagation of the knowledge and 
benefits of his mission through all the world. 
For this purpose he gave the promise of the- 
Spirit, and pronounced in the most impressive 
manner the words of the great commission. 

After his ascension these provisions were car- 
ried into full effect. By the baptism of the Holy 



VARIETY IN UNITY OF WORK. 247 

Ghost, Christ reappeared in the rapidly increas- 
ing multitude of true believers, became their 
very life, appropriated to his own use all their 
varied powers, and thus constituted for himself 
one vast body, admirably adapted to the work 
which still remained to be done. This new body, 
so full of life and activity at the first, has since 
been perpetuated and enlarged, until now it lives 
by its multiplied members on every continent 
and island of the globe, having every-where the 
one supreme Head, and under his direction the 
same unfinished work. 

The unity of this work is assured by the sin- 
gleness of the divine purpose. "Jesus Christ 
is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever." 
He lived, and died, and lives again at the right 
hand of the Majesty on high and in all his mem- 
bers here below, with only one object in view — 
the greatest possible good to all men by their 
return to God. 

If he really sustains a relation to believers the 
same with that of the soul to the body, then he 
certainly moves them all by one common impulse 
in the expression of his will, and directs their 
actual labors to the accomplishment of his cher- 
ished purpose. That must be a very imperfect 
body, and hardly worthy of the name, in which 
the soul lias no power of manifestation and con- 



248 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

trol. According to the true order the body ex- 
ists for the soul, and not the soul for the body. 
So the body of Christ is of him and for him; and, 
while it remains such, it can never have a sep- 
arate life nor a divided aim. Thus with one 
perfect body of living workers, animated by one 
controlling spirit and purpose, the work itself 
must be one. 

But just at this point arises a question which 
is of great practical interest. If all true Chris- 
tians, as members of the body of Christ, must 
be engaged in this one work, how can they con- 
tinue in their different providential callings ? Or, 
can it be said that some are members really, 
and others only constructively — like a crutch or 
an eye-glass, to be used occasionally? It is clear 
from the authorized analogy of physical life, that 
all the work of every true member must be in 
the body, and for him to whom it belongs. 
But, with the actual and necessary diversities 
both of gifts and of occupation, how is this 
possible? 

With a little careful thought the true answer 
is furnished. "All the members have not the 
same office." E pluribus tiniim is stamped not 
only upon the body itself, but also upon all its 
proper work; and the one corresponds exactly 
to the other. As the single body is necessarily 



VARIETY IN UNITY OF WORK. 249 

composed of many members, so the variety of 
their work is indispensable to complete unity in 
the effect. 

For the success of almost any ordinary work, 
the person undertaking it must use to a greater 
or less extent -all his powers, mental and physical. 
And how greatly is the result impaired by imper- 
fect performance in the functions of any part. 
Disable the hand, or the foot, . or one of the 
organs of sense, and the loss is felt at once ; 
touch the vital parts, and the work is arrested 
altogether. So also is the work of Christ. 
"For there are diversities of gifts, but the same 
Spirit; there are differences of administrations, 
but the same Lord; and there are diversities of 
operations, but it is the same God who worketh 
all in all." 

The practical recognition of this truth is of 
the utmost importance. It can not fail to cor- 
rect some grievous mistakes, and to promote in 
many ways the harmony and efficiency of all 
good work. No effort is rendered unnecessary 
by being indirect. The main and direct opera- 
tions depend upon countless auxiliaries acting in 
concert, and contributing each of its own kind a 
full quota to the common enterprise. The Gos- 
pel must be preached by men set apart to that 
work; but the preacher must be sent and sup- 



250 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

ported; and support means money, in part at 
least; and money requires labor of many kinds — 
all of which may be performed for Christ. The 
Gospel must be preached every-where to every 
body by every possible method ; and this fur- 
nishes employment to all alike, in the family, the 
Sunday-school, the associations of business, and 
in all the varied circumstances of life. 

But the variety of work can be measured only 
by the variety of gifts, opportunities, and neces- 
sities. Every individual has something to do 
which can be done by no other; and however 
small the work may seem it forms an essential 
part of the grand unit of success. Let all, there- 
fore, do what they can just where they are, and 
rejoice that in Christ Jesus there is the largest 
variety in perfect unity of work. 



CO-OPERATION FOR CHRIST. 25 1 



XXXIX. 

Co-operation for Christ. 

WORKING together for the same end — 
this, in brief, is co-operation. 
It is readily distinguished from the fanciful 
union which is sometimes advocated. Co-opera- 
tion presupposes separate and distinct agencies, 
operating either as individuals or as organiza- 
tions, and makes no demand for an impracticable 
denominational unity. It is entirely consistent 
with great diversity in the methods of operation, 
and derives from such diversity a decided advan- 
tage — as is well illustrated by the different arms 
of the military service and the various organs of 
the human body. It allows wide differences of 
opinion on all questions not fundamental to the 
work, and is possible even where the laborers 
are separated by distance of both time and 
place. It demands, however, as absolutely indis- 
pensable, the removal of all mutual jealousies 
and antagonisms, and the concentration of effort 
upon one and the same end. It is working to- 
gether with the largest freedom of action, and, 



252 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

in many cases, without actual combination of 
forces, but always and even'- where with the 
same object in view. It implies the only union 
which is possible or desirable for the great body 
of workers, an all -comprehensive oneness in 
Christ Jesus — the unity of the Spirit in co-oper- 
ative love and labor. 

In secular affairs, co-operation, under certain 
limitations, is undergoing the test of successful 
experiment, and is rapidly becoming the order 
of the day. Co-operative societies are formed 
for the management of various mercantile and 
manufacturing interests, and with such manifest 
advantage that multitudes resort to them for 
protection against the rapacity of extortioners. 
In fact, the whole business enterprise of the 
world is sound and healthful — contributing to 
individual profit and the common welfare — only 
when it is conducted on the basis of general 
co-operation. 

Such is the law of labor where merely mate- 
rial results are sought, and its observance is 
justly made a point of the greatest importance. 
Disaster invariably follows neglect, and can be 
repaired only by returning to fundamental prin- 
ciples. Special effort is, therefore, made to 
guard against all conflict between the different 
branches of labor and trade, and to maintain a 



CO-OPERATION FOR CHRIST. 253 

wise adjustment and harmonious working of the 
entire machinery of business. This is worldly 
wisdom securing its end, worldly prosperity; and 
the secret of success is co-operation. 

Shall the children of this world always be 
wiser in their generation than the children of 
light? Shall the law of effective labor be disre- 
garded only in its highest department? Shall 
the desire for temporal good prove a mightier 
regulating force than love for Christ and the 
souls of men? However important co-operation 
may be as a matter of mere temporal economy 
and success, it is certainly far more so in all 
Christian enterprises. Here it might be ex- 
pected to encounter less difficulty and find 
greater facilities than elsewhere, and to exhibit 
in advance of the age its beneficent results. 

Co-operation for Christ should be already an 
accomplished fact on the grandest scale. It is 
practicable without material change of ecclesias- 
tical organizations, methods, or creeds — requir- 
ing only the Spirit and aims of the Gospel. It 
is desirable for the sake of the immense inter- 
ests involved, and by every reason which can 
move the Christian heart. It is rendered neces- 
sary by the extent of the field, the character of 
the opposition, and the very nature of the work 
itself. It is indeed the great leading idea of the 



254 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Gospel plan of labor — the order established by 
supreme authority. 

Actual service is required of all Christians; 
and, however numerous its branches, it is essen- 
tially the same throughout, having the inspiration 
of a single commanding purpose, and tending to 
one grand final result. God has exalted human 
agency to the dignity of co-operation with him- 
self in the instruction and salvation of the race, 
and most certainly requires all his agents on 
their part to work together for the same end. 
The manner of work thus becomes quite as 
much a duty as work itself; and faithfulness to 
Christ consists in universal and hearty co-opera- 
tion in his service. 

Now, however strange it may appear, it is 
just at this point that we find the most serious 
failure. It is a failure not so much of effort as 
of method. A vast amount of labor is ex- 
pended ; but with very inadequate results, be- 
cause of the general neglect of this great duty 
of co-operation. 

Of the different Christian Churches, not a few 
seem to regard themselves as having each an 
exclusive commission to convert the world, and 
to look upon every other as an intruder barely 
to be tolerated. Such, at least, is the appear- 
ance caused by withholding from others all 



CO-OPERATION FOR CHRIST. 255 

sympathy and co-operation. Sometimes, indeed, 
the evil is carried much further — especially be- 
tween Churches differing widely in polity, usages, 
or doctrines — when open animosity and actual 
conflict exhaust the strength of the contending 
parties, and incur the just reproach of the world. 
Such scenes are happily becoming rare ; but 
ecclesiastical exclusiveness and sectarian jealous- 
ies to a great extent still remain to hinder the 
work of God. 

Even among Churches of the same denomi- 
nation, in some of our cities, the support of a 
separate establishment often appears to be the 
main object in view, and seriously interferes with 
every scheme of effective co-operation. The 
separate establishment, ''our Church," is sup- 
ported in all due respectability, and perhaps 
some good is accomplished ; but where is the 
moral power of concentrated masses, which is 
so frequently necessary to success? 

So, at one point or another over the whole 
field, the organized- labors of the Church suffer 
incalculable loss, simply through failure of ear- 
nest and general co-operation for Christ. Oh, 
for the inspiration and might of a single, exalted, 
and all-absorbing aim ! How speedily would this 
effect the practical unity of the Church and the 
conversion of the world! 



256 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

But the root of the difficulty will not be 
reached until co-operation for Christ is carried 
into the relations and work of individuals. This 
is the great duty and need of the hour — the co- 
operation of one with another wherever it is 
possible, in the home, in the Sunday-school, and 
between the two — the co-operation of the laity 
with the ministry, and of all the members among 
themselves, by watching over one another in 
love and working together continually for the 
same end. If concurrent effort increases indi- 
vidual power fivefold — if "one shall chase a 
thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight" — 
who can be excused from co-operation in the 
work of God? 

Every disciple, even the humblest and most 
obscure, has a part to perform, which, however 
small in itself, may be of the utmost importance 
in the general plan. Here is the greatest liabil- 
ity of failure — here in fact is the failure — against 
w r hich we are carefully guarded by the admoni- 
tions of the Scriptures. The foot can not say, 
Because I am not the hand I am not the body. 
The head can not say to the feet, I have no need 
of you. "Nay, much more those members of 
the body, which seem to be more feeble, are 
necessary. " How perfect a model of co-opera- 
tion is the human body, with its numerous and 



CO-OPERATION FOR CHRIST. 257 

different members? But "now ye are the body 
of Christ and members in particular;" and from 
him "the whole body is fitly joined together 
and compacted by that which every joint sup- 
plieth, according to the effectual working in the 
measure of every part." 

What more need we say? The divine ideal 
embodied in the very constitution of the Church, 
and the paramount duty of members in particu- 
lar, is co-operation for Christ. Faithfulness in 
this will decide both the usefulness and the des- 
tiny of all our readers. 

17 



258 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XL. 

Disappearance of the Individual. 

SOCIETY at the present day is to a great ex- 
tent resolved into "societies." Organiza- 
tions are formed for almost every conceivable 
purpose — good, bad, and indifferent — and seem 
to be capable of indefinite multiplication. Every 
trade has its league or union, every business en- 
terprise of magnitude requires an incorporated 
company, and every interest of science, politics, 
and religion must be represented by a party or 
an association. 

The story is told that some one in attempting 
to describe "the people called Methodists," sol- 
emnly declared that two of them never meet 
without taking a collection. It would be no 
greater exaggeration to say, as characteristic of 
Americans, that they never come together for 
even a temporary purpose without organizing 
the meeting by the appointment of a president, 
secretary, and at least one committee. Of course, 
a series of resolutions must be prepared, sub- 
mitted, discussed, adopted, duly certified by the 



DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 259 

proper officers, and published to the world. If 
the meeting fails to become a permanent society, 
it is only because it can be at any time conveni- 
ently reassembled. Just what the formidable 
resolutions actually accomplish it would be diffi- 
cult to tell; but they express the " sense of the 
majority." Thus every body stands a chance of 
becoming a president sometime in his life; all 
are performing habitually the functions of legis- 
lators, and, to say the least, a natural instinct is 
gratified. Under the influence of our peculiar 
institutions, a powerful tendency is manifest to 
do every thing by organizations rather than by 
individuals. 

Without doubt, many of these societies are 
useful, and some are indispensable. They grow 
out of the social nature and condition of the race, 
by virtue of which many worthy ends can be 
efficiently served only by a judicious combination 
of efforts. God himself has ordained the family, 
the Church, and the State as social organizations 
for specific purposes; and the precedent thus 
established may be safely followed. 

But is not the tendency to organize already 
sufficiently developed? Does it not need now to 
be carefully guarded and directed rather than 
stimulated? It certainly is liable to serious per- 
version and abuse. A wondrously wise philoso- 



260 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

phy assumes the plausible postulate that the 
individual dies while society lives forever, and 
thence concludes that the former is nothing, the 
latter every thing. But the assumption is as 
false as the system of philosophy which supports 
it; the individual never dies unless he is organ- 
ized to death. It must be confessed, however, 
that with the prevalence of erroneous views and 
the favoring tendencies of the age, the individual 
is in real danger of being overwhelmed and ab- 
sorbed by societies, and of becoming thus prac- 
tically extinct. 

This danger is most imminent in the affairs 
of politics and religion. In the former the indi- 
vidual surrenders himself to party and party 
measures without regard to his own independent 
convictions, and almost of necessity is subject to 
the dictation of party leaders, while these lead- 
ers themselves must carefully ascertain and fol- 
low the drift of majorities, whether in the right 
direction or the wrong. Even in the administra- 
tion of ordinary charities the individual is super- 
seded by committees of relief, and rarely enjoys 
the blessedness of giving directly to the objects 
of his benevolence. And what is more common 
than for individuals to be utterly lost from sight 
in so-called Christian organizations? The Church 
seems to be, in many instances, only a burying- 



DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 26 1 

ground for unused talents, and the larger it is, 
the more convenient for the purpose. The 
Church record is of use chiefly as a cemetery 
directory, and carefully preserves the name, age, 
and date of burial, with perhaps an occasional 
epitaph inscribed by an affectionate pastor. For 
a wonder, you hear very similar names mentioned 
"on change" or see them displayed over places 
of trade, and at length make the astounding dis- 
covery that these same persons are fully alive to 
business enterprise, and are dead only to distinct 
personal Christian effort in the Church. In such 
cases the individual has quite disappeared in the 
organization. 

This fact specially concerns the Church: How 
does it happen? 

Of course, every one is ready to acknowledge 
that vast responsibilities rest upon the member- 
ship of the Church in the aggregate. "They, 
they" ought to do this or that, pay the preacher 
a better salary, repair the house of worship or re- 
lieve it of debt, sustain the Sunday-school, make 
the class and prayer meetings more interesting, 
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and convert 
sinners in masses. But though it is a member 
of the Church who thus complacently delivers 
his opinion, "they" can never by any possibility 
include himself. What, forsooth, is the object 



262 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

of Church organization, unless it be to do these 
very things? And why join it if you must do 
them yourself? 

Ridiculously absurd as all this appears, when 
once brought out "in black and white," it never- 
theless represents the position actually taken in 
many cases. Thousands of nominal Christians 
are every day endeavoring to quiet conscience 
by gravely talking about the general duties and 
responsibilities of the Church, while they them- 
selves do little or nothing of the required work. 
They cultivate a sort of public conscience, which 
serves the convenient purpose of excusing the 
individual and accusing the Church. Question 
such persons closely, and you find certain vague 
conceptions of an indefinable organization pos- 
sessing in itself all needful power, and charge- 
able with all delinquencies. Tell them that the 
Church is composed of individuals, and they 
evasively reply, What is one among so many? 
Perhaps they quote the brilliant commonplace, 
"What is every body's business is nobody's." 
If the idea of distinct and separate responsibility 
is ever entertained, it rarely comes to be an ap- 
preciable force in the work of the Church. 

If there were no exceptions to this statement, 
it is certain that nothing would ever be accom- 
plished. In the most of cases a noble few en- 



DISAPPEARANCE OF THE INDIVIDUAL. 263 

deavor to supply the deficiencies of the many, 
and succeed only in doing their own part. With 
their best efforts they can not take the place or 
do the work of others, but they save the Church 
from the disgrace of absolute uselessness. If 
all were as diligent as they, the value of every 
accession to the Church could be measured ex- 
actly by individual ability. Alas ! that this is 
not the fact. It can not be concealed that the 
increase of power and usefulness is not in the 
ratio of the present rapid increase of member- 
ship. The vast and growing disproportion be- 
tween the number of workers and of non-workers 
reveals all too plainly the lamentable disappear- 
ance of the individual. 

Where the chief fault in this matter should be 
fixed remains a question to be decided accord- 
ing to the facts in particular cases. Certainly, 
no one can avoid at the last a strict account for 
whatever disposition he has made of his own 
talents. Personal responsibility is distinctly la- 
beled "not transferable," and opportunities for 
usefulness may always be found somewhere if 
diligently sought. But, in the management of 
the affairs of the Church, is it not possible to 
prevent, or at least seriously obstruct, individual 
activity simply by neglecting to make suitable 
arrangements for it? May not the pastors and 



264 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

chief men sometimes unwittingly invite and fa- 
cilitate the burial rather than the active invest- 
ment of individual talents? 

What is the fact concerning the larger and 
"better half" of the Church? It is notorious 
that in many cases the lips of the most compe- 
tent women are sealed, except in song, through 
false notions of modesty and the misinterpreta- 
tion of an apostolic precept. 

But what becomes of the multiplied thousands 
of men, women, and children who are annually 
added to the Church? If they are simply re- 
ceived, absorbed, and then lost from sight, is it 
altogether by their own fault? The question is 
specially appropriate in times of extensive re- 
vivals and large accessions, and the responsibility 
of the case is clear. Let every one, therefore, 
who has already come or is coming now, be 
heartily welcomed to all the activities of the 
Christian life, and furnished with every possible 
facility and encouragement. In short, let admis- 
sion to membership in the Church be the epoch 
of the emergence instead of the disappearance of 
the individual. 



THE QUESTION OF POWER. 265 



XLI, 

The Question of Power. 

THE telegraph covers the land and fathoms 
the sea with lines of wire and cable, cost- 
ing millions of money, and employing a host of 
operators. But what were all this without elec- 
tricity? The whole system depends upon just 
this peculiar force, admitting of no known sub- 
stitute; and if from any cause electricity could 
no longer be generated, the telegraph would at 
once become utterly useless. 

Railroads, too, have multiplied to a marvelous 
extent, have absorbed a prodigious amount of 
capital, and are of incalculable utility, if not 
absolutely indispensable, to modern civilization. 
But what would bt their value without the applied 
heat-force f They first sprang into existence, and 
have since continued to grow, as one of the results 
of a very simple discovery — the use of steam in 
producing motion. As another result of the 
same discovery, ships ply the waters of the globe 
without regard to winds or tides ; mills and fac- 
tories of every kind, and almost without number, 



266 HALF HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

have been put in operation, free from restrictions 
of place; and a large part of the world's work 
is done by machinery impelled by the abundant 
and wonderfully tractable power of steam. The 
remarkable progress of the age in commerce and 
manufactures, in multiplying the comforts of life 
and the appliances of civilization, is attributable 
in no small degree to the development and use 
of a force additional to that of winds and water- 
falls, and capable of easier and wider application. 

The imagination can hardly conceive the effect 
of the sudden annihilation or withdrawal of these 
two forces, electricity and steam; and yet both 
have always been in existence, and are modern 
only in their use. It is that use, not only possi- 
ble but actual, on which depend so many interests 
of industry and so much of human welfare. In 
this lower sphere of material interests, at least, 
the great practical question is a question of 
power, and of the right kind and actual use of 
power. 

Does not the same question recur in higher 
affairs, and with vastly augmented importance? 

Christianity establishes lines of communica- 
tion reaching far beyond those of telegraphs and 
railways, and takes in hand a work greatly ex- 
ceeding that of all manufactories combined. For 
success it requires numerous organizations and 



THE QUESTION OF POWER. 267 

agencies, a large amount and variety of ma- 
chinery, the active employment of a multitude 
of laborers, and the investment of capital on an 
extended scale. In respect to mere instrumental- 
ities, it is obviously subject to the same laws and 
conditions which govern all secular enterprises; 
for, however different its nature and purpose, it 
operates in the same world and through the same 
human agency. Accordingly it is already fur- 
nished in some measure with the external requi- 
sites of success. Christian organizations of many 
kinds have been established throughout the 
world; multitudes of people have been pledged 
and trained in the various departments of serv- 
ice; and millions of treasure have been ex- 
pended in the erection and maintenance of 
churches, colleges, publishing houses, and mis- 
sionary stations. But what are all these without 
the appropriate moving power? Unless that be 
supplied, is it not apparent that the work must 
either cease entirely or depend upon some alien 
force? 

Human passions of various grades give im- 
pulse to the enterprises of the world, and may to 
those of the Church, even when such passions 
are more or less corrupt. The Gospel may be 
preached from envy and strife, or for filthy lucre's 
sake, or as a means of gaining personal fame 



268 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

or social position. Prayers, exhortations, and all 
forms of conspicuous activity may be prompted 
by motives of vanity and ambition. Even revi- 
val meetings may be held chiefly, if not solely, 
for the purpose of increasing the congregation 
and the pew rents, or to counteract the aggressive 
competition of some neighboring Church. In- 
deed, there is no end of possible perversion and 
degeneracy while maintaining the semblance of 
Christian work; and, as the real power resides 
not in the form but in the spirit, the utter un- 
suitableness of motives not purely Christian is at 
once recognized. 

Here as elsewhere correspondence or adapta- 
tion is indispensable. The difficult, exalted, and 
in every way peculiar nature of the work to be 
done, evidently requires the use of some force 
equally peculiar and distinctive ; and that is cer- 
tainly not to be found in ordinary human pas- 
sions. Where, then, is it to be found? And in 
what does it consist? 

As the work itself is of God, so also is the 
true power from God. It has been the same 
from the beginning, the power to which Chris- 
tianity owes its origin and establishment in the 
world, and it is nothing less than divine love. 

But can this greatest power of God, the 
supreme glory of his nature, be brought in any 



THE QUESTION OF POWER. 269 

measure within the compass of human faculties? 
The answer needs no new discovery. 

Christ was not only divine but human, and 
the perfectly human embodiment of this love. 
In some particulars likeness to Christ may be 
only approximate, but in respect to love it may 
be perfect and entire, by virtue of his spirit 
dwelling in us. To love as Christ loved, with 
love of the same kind, is the authorized and 
infallible test of true discipleship. Human na- 
ture, in all its faculties of body and soul, is the 
depository and apparatus and enginery through 
which this divine force is to come into actual and 
effective operation in the world; and no human 
nature is so poorly endowed or ill-conditioned 
that it may not serve the exalted purpose. The 
same love which brought the Savior from the 
skies, which constrained the great apostle to the 
Gentiles, which has wrought the grandest revo- 
lution the world has ever known, may dwell in 
the humblest child, and even in the wayfaring 
man though accounted a fool. Be the intellect 
bright or dull, the heart has a wondrous aptitude 
for love, and when open to God it receives and 
gives without measure. 

Divine love in human hearts being thus uni- 
versally and easily practicable, the question of 
securing all the working power needed becomes 



270 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

a very simple matter, so simple, indeed, that it 
may fail of being properly regarded. 

Now, is it not wise to accept just what God 
has appointed as being fully sufficient? Shall 
not the use of this simple and available force be 
insisted upon every-where ? 

It certainly is needed every-where and above 
every thing else. Much of the work of the 
Church is either left undone, or is done in 
extreme feebleness, because it offers no in- 
ducements to selfish gratification or worldly 
advantage ; and this very work is often the most 
important of all, though it does not pay the un- 
worthy motive. A stern sense of duty is doubt- 
less able of itself to compel effort, but it is very 
likely to be overcome by disinclination, and at 
the best leaves its work cold and powerless. The 
fact is, Christian work of every kind, in order 
to be done with promptness and energy, or to 
be done at all, must have heart in it — the deep, 
strong love of the Christian heart. 

Such love makes privilege of duty, gives de- 
light to sacrifice, and joyfully accepts any pos- 
sible service in view of the good to be accom- 
plished. It is the very soul and life of labor, 
doing by its own promptings whatever it finds 
to do, whether great or small, whether seen of 
men or known only to Him who seeth in secret; 



THE QUESTION OF POWER. 27 1 

and to every work it imparts its own peculiar 
tenderness and warmth and life and power. As 
God's special provision, it has proved its suffi- 
ciency by every possible test through all the 
ages; and nothing is needed by the Church to- 
day so much as the "love of God shed abroad 
in the heart by the Holy Ghost." With this 
alone we are able to meet all demands, and give 
a full and satisfactory answer to the question of 
power. 



272 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XLII. 

The Point to be Gained. 

ALL intelligent labor may be supposed to 
have some end in view, some one point to 
be gained in order to insure final success. That 
point, whatever it may be, necessarily determines 
the kind of labor to be expended, together with 
all the means and methods of work; practically, 
it is the only safe guide in every case. It should, 
therefore, be clearly defined before the mind of 
the worker, carefully studied in all its require- 
ments, and kept in view at every step of the 
process. 

What is the real point to be aimed at? And 
what does that particular point require as neces- 
sary in any attempt to gain it? Having obtained 
answers clear and satisfactory, work accordingly, 
employing only the means and methods evi- 
dently adapted to the desired result. Success 
will then depend only upon energy and perse- 
verance in the work. 

But if there be any doubt or misapprehension 
concerning the point to be gained, how can 



THE POINT TO BE GAINED. 273 

effort be either intelligent or productive? If the 
traveler has no knowledge of his destination, or 
of any intervening points, how can he with con- 
fidence proceed at all? Of what practical value 
is zeal, or strength, or patient continuance in toil, 
unless they are suitably directed? The best mo- 
tives, the greatest abilities, the mightiest organ- 
ization and array of forces, the most .approved 
methods and the most strenuous exertions will 
all utterly fail of effect if diverted from the true 
objective point. 

In the more simple and ordinary affairs of life 
this point is rarely overlooked or mistaken. The 
plain common sense which usually has sway in 
such affairs gives it the greatest prominence, and 
brands neglect as folly and failure as incompe- 
tency. But, unhappily, greater affairs, and espe- 
cially such as concern mind and character, seem 
to be regarded as belonging to quite another 
realm, and are subject to individual caprice, or 
to some iron rule of established precedent or 
prevailing custom. In such cases the work is in 
danger, and actually in course of becoming pro- 
fessional, perfunctory, mechanical, and complete 
in itself. 

Educational and ecclesiastical institutions are 

sometimes looked upon as so many machines 

to be kept in operation according to certain 

18 



274 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

inflexible methods, whether the point is gained 
or not — because, forsooth, they have been 
erected. Maintain the forms at all hazards with 
scrupulous regard for the most trifling technical- 
ities, and without the slightest reference to the 
end in view. Indeed, let conformity to forms 
be the end in view. Run the machinery for the 
sake of the machinery. Keep in full operation 
all the institutions of learning and religion, all 
the agencies of Christian civilization, in the home, 
the school, the Church, and all for the sake of 
the work itself, or at best because it is a duty ; 
but never be simple or practical enough to look 
to any point beyond, or even to inquire whether 
there is any such point worth gaining. 

Strange as it ma}' appear, such is really the 
course pursued in cases almost without number. 
Even men, who are sensible in other things, 
admonish, reprove, exhort, teach, and do what- 
ever may seem to be a duty, without reference 
to gaining the true point. The thing must be 
done, and therefore it is done without care for 
method or result. So government is adminis- 
tered and instruction is given in the family and 
the Sunday-school and the Church, with little 
thought of gaining the point. Is it wonderful 
that, in many instances, the point is never 
gained ? 



THE POINT TO BE GAINED. 275 

Now, we insist that the main thing in any 
work, and above all in the labors of a Christian, 
is understanding and gaining the right point. 
There are doubtless incidental benefits to the 
worker not to be depreciated ; and the work is 
to be done whether it appears to be successful 
or not. But this work has a point to be gained 
which is of infinite importance, and for which it 
was expressly instituted. Until that point is 
gained, labor is to all intents and purposes in 
vain, and may well afford little satisfaction. 
Without doubt, it is a point of great difficulty; 
but so much the more should it be kept in view, 
and sought with all simplicity, earnestness, 
directness, tact, and perseverance, as the one 
point on which eternal destinies are suspended. 
Surely, if it is folly elsewhere, here it is crime 
to neglect definite and well-directed effort to 
gain the point. 

What that point is, perhaps, no one would 
need to be told, but for the danger of overlook- 
ing or forgetting it. It is the point which God 
himself continually seeks to gain — the consent and 
submission of the human will. 

This is the point of crisis, of responsibility, 
of destiny, with every human being — a point 
which he may hold against God and his fellows 
even to the last. But in most of cases, if not in 



276 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

all, it may be gained by a certain kind of work 
expressly adapted to its peculiarities. 

This is the work begun by him who "was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto himself, "and 
now "given unto us in the ministry of recon- 
ciliation." 

On the part of God a great number and vari- 
ety of means and methods are employed, all of 
which are perfectly adapted to gain joyful con- 
sent and submission, and are continually tending 
to this with vast actual results. But he uses 
the point, already gained with the willing and 
obedient, by committing to their hands "the 
Word of reconciliation," and requires their serv- 
ice in the same great work. Thus furnished 
with the means appointed by Infinite Wisdom, 
they are to seek the best method of teaching 
the Word of God, so as to convince and per- 
suade men. 

This work of the Christian, like all other 
work, allows a great variety of methods. In 
war, the conquest of the enemy by breaking his 
power is the point to be gained ; and this may 
be done by killing, wounding, capturing, induc- 
ing desertion, cutting off supplies, etc. Any one 
of these and other methods, carried sufficiently 
far, would gain the point ; but, to hasten the 
process, as man}' as possible are combined. A 



THE POT LINED. 

ilar variety of r. 

affor pe . to ever 

even in cases the most pec 

stances — of individi 

the me' 
Th 

in any gi 

— re I 

ter — and of hum rob- 

the will lies through the heart. 
Even 

an ancient castle, built wit id ramparts, and 

surrounded by a moat. The hear: 

portcullis a 
behind which the will keeps watch and ward, 
. a feudal 1c this point the Great 

makes tl ::iand of right :. 

appeal of love ; and all his embassadors ar 
do likewise. T - or batter tl 

down, if this were possible, certainly would not 
be gaining the point. E the 

truth of the old coup] 

"A man convir. bis will 

Is of the same 



278 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Whoever would find the way to the very seat 
of responsible power, and there gain the con- 
sent and induce the action which begin a new 
life, must approach the gateway and open com- 
munication as a friend. 

In short, to reach the heart, awaken interest, 
enlist the affections, is the best way of gaining 
the will. 



CARRYING THE POINT. 279 



XLiir. 
Carrying the Point. 

ONCE upon a time, as the story goes, a man 
was driving through a small village in what 
he considered splendid style, when a little dog 
ran out after him, barking furiously, and was 
soon joined by another, according to the estab- 
lished custom of dogs in such cases. Provoked 
by the rude assault, he struck right and left 
with his whip ; but this piece of indiscretion 
only increased the tumult, and presently he found 
the whole pack of village curs yelping at his 
heels. This was too much for his offended dig- 
nity; it would never do to be thus ignominiously 
defeated and driven from the field. Moreover, 
he had been taught and always had acted on the 
principle, ' 'Accomplish whatever you undertake. " 
So he stopped, tied his horse, and by a vigorous 
and well-directed onslaught succeeded in routing 
his assailants. Just as he was mounting again to 
his seat, flushed with triumph, a door opened 
not far away, and a shrill voice piped out, ''Ah, 
mister, you Ve conquered, you 've conquered — 



280 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the dogs." His laurels suddenly withered. He 
had carried his point, but without , previously 
asking w r hether it was worth carrying. 

Misapplied effort is not confined to dog- whip- 
ping. It has numberless instances of greater and 
more difficult achievements, equally unworthy 
and barren of profit. The world is full of wasted 
energy, of inglorious and empty victories. In- 
deed, our hero is a representative character; not 
that all of the class to which he belongs are as 
soon and as forcibly reminded of the real value 
of their conquests, but that they are the victims 
of the same false notions and blind impulses. 

There is a certain obstinate pride of success, 
a common inheritance, we suppose, which is 
very likely to play a conspicuous part in the 
drama of common affairs. It always has a point 
to carry, even though it be nothing more than 
its own vindication. Once committed to some 
ill-advised undertaking, it feels bound to go 
through with it at all hazards. It stops to ask 
no questions, and takes no counsel except of 
itself. Utterly blind and unreasoning, it refuses 
no challenge and brooks no defeat. Even to be 
barked at is an insufferable affront, calling for 
the highest assertion of one's manhood ; but al- 
most any thing suffices for a wager of battle. 

As an instance not uncommon, somebody 



CARRYING THE POINT. 28 1 

does or says something, to which somebody else 
takes exception or shows resentment. Imme- 
diately this pride is aroused, and the issue is 
joined. Then, almost before they know it, the 
contending parties are taxing all their resources 
to secure a triumph, which turns out to be pain- 
fully full of evil or at the best ludicrously empty 
of good. So it often happens that courts of jus- 
tice are crowded with trivial litigation, neighbor- 
hoods are embroiled in petty disputes, Churches 
are disturbed by internal dissensions provoked 
by the merest trifles, and even members of the 
same domestic circle are alienated over the most 
unimportant differences — all for the poor satis- 
faction of not having yielded a point never worth 
a moment's contention. 

How well it would be in such provocations to 
take the precaution of the sober second thought! 
Men are not to be treated as dogs, though they 
may sometimes seem to bear a distant resem- 
blance. But when they are so treated by reason 
of the resentments they inspire or the contests 
they open, the glory of victory is generally very 
much the same as with the hero of the whip. 

The challenge, however, often comes from 
circumstances and things rather than men. It 
consists in the provoking resistance encountered 
in natural difficulties. Many an enterprise is 



282 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

carried on, not because the promise equals the 
cost, but because it has been commenced, and 
failure now would be mortifying. The question 
is rarely entertained whether success would be 
any better. 

Great expense has been incurred and many 
lives have been sacrificed in the numerous expe- 
ditions to find a north-west passage to India 
through a conjectural open Polar sea, and the 
end is not yet. Suppose the discovery were 
made, what good could ever come of it beyond 
the satisfaction of curiosity and the confirmation 
of a theory? An open sea, hemmed in by bar- 
riers of ice which have hitherto defied penetra- 
tion, could never become a highway for com- 
merce, and possible pleasure excursions to the 
North Pole would, hardly have sufficient attrac- 
tions to make them a paying business. Does 
the end justify the effort? 

Many other projects of less magnitude are 
just as disproportioned to their best possible -re- 
sults. No little labor has been expended on 
schemes of perpetual motion and of aerial navi- 
gation, neither of which give the least promise 
of useful availability. After long years of inde- 
fatigable application, some one has succeeded in 
constructing an automaton, which is said to have 
marvelous powers of speech and song; but after 



CARRYING THE POINT. 283 

all it is nothing more than an ingenious toy. 
Another man finds the pride of his life in own- 
ing the horse which has made "the fastest time 
on record," and still another in securing the 
reputation of being the wealthiest and meanest 
man in the country. Success in these and a 
thousand similar ambitions is little better than 
conquering the dogs. 

But the waste of resources or the inadequacy 
of results is not the worst thing in many attempts 
to carry the point. Nothing presents so great a 
temptation to the use of wrong. Nothing affords 
so strenuous a support to the vicious maxim, 
"The end justifies the means." Only in such 
attempts do we hear the specious plea, "Let us 
do evil that good may come." It is wonderful 
how otherwise good men sometimes strain a point 
of morals in order to carry a point of ambition. 
And yet something like this is done every day 
by men high in position and influence. So it 
seems at least to the dispassionate observer. 

Does this pride of success, this absorbing devo- 
tion to a purpose, ever obscure the mental vision 
and blunt the moral sense ? There certainly is dan- 
ger of such an effect; and to be apprised of this 
should be a sufficient warning with all who believe 
that no success, however great, is able to com- 
pensate any sacrifice of principle, however small. 



284 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

But success is not to be lightly esteemed be- 
cause it is sometimes insufficient and ill-gotten. 
When it satisfies the question of what and how, 
it becomes the great object of life. 

Pluck and persistence are admirable qualities 
if employed in an admirable service; and such 
service is always waiting for their achievements. 
Under divine direction they have a wide and 
worthy field of action with the most ample and 
unexceptionable means at their command. In- 
deed, it is because they are so loudly demanded 
in their proper sphere that their waste and per- 
version are so much to be deprecated. Let the 
will and skill now worse than lost in trivial and 
vicious pursuits be turned wholly in the right 
direction, and faithfully devoted to overcoming 
evil and removing obstructions to the elevation 
of the race, by the use of divinely appointed 
means, and our world would soon become the 
very portal of heaven. 

For all the interests of life, both present and 
future, nothing is so much needed by every hu- 
man being as true success in wisely selecting 
and then effectually carrying the point. 



THE QUESTION OF METHOD. 285 



XLIV. 

The Question of Method. 

WHEN practical results of any kind are 
sought, it is generally assumed, on the 
score of common sense, that something must be 
done. Two distinct questions then naturally 
arise: What to do? and, How to do it? 

The first, perhaps because it is first, receives 
greater attention, and is ordinarily answered with- 
out difficulty and in general terms. It relates 
particularly to the act considered as a whole and 
in its adaptation to the end desired. The second, 
which is the question of method, is not less im- 
portant, though it is often quite overlooked. It 
certainly is of little use to tell what to do with- 
out showing how to do it ; and, unless the former 
implies the latter, additional and specific informa- 
tion respecting method is indispensable. Not a 
step can be taken intelligently and confidently 
without it. 

To learn the best method of doing what is 
to be done requires patient investigation of all 
the ways and means at command; and to teach 



286 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

it to others the process must be carefully ex- 
plained or practically illustrated in all its details 
from beginning to end. This is work, and per- 
haps accounts for the apparent neglect of the 
question of method; but it is the very work 
which the world needs, and it is preliminary to 
success in all matters great and small. 

The nature and importance of this question 
was once illustrated by a trifling incident in par- 
sonage life. A stove cover had accidentally 
dropped upon a new and elegant Brussels carpet, 
and deposited a circle of soot in large flakes, 
very fragile -and very black. Here was a prac- 
tical problem. What was to be done? The soot 
must be removed, of course. But how could it 
be done without leaving traces on a carpet which 
the Church had recently furnished? Something 
more than money value was staked upon the 
issue. Sweep it up with a broom or a delicate 
brush ? Such was the first thought, and it seemed 
to be the only w r ay. But no, that would not do; 
for under the slightest pressure the soot would 
crumble and become imbedded in those beautiful 
meshes on which it was lightly piled up. Hap- 
pily the pastor had obtained a few hints on 
method in the treatment of soot. Placing a 
dust-pan conveniently he transferred to it every 
particle of that dark threatening pile by the 



THE QUESTION OF METHOD. 287 

breath of his mouth — he simply blew it off. Not 
a mark was left to indicate the fatal spot ; the 
impending calamity of discouragement in furnish- 
ing the parsonage was averted ; and joy was 
restored to the pastor's family through the suc- 
cess of the right method in so humble a matter 
as removing soot from a carpet. It was a case 
in point, and fully demonstrated the value of 
knowing how to do it. 

This is precisely the kind of knowledge de- 
manded in thousands of cases where infinitely 
greater interests are involved. 

For instance, the inquiring penitent hears the 
encouraging words, ''Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 

"But how shall I do it?" he replies. "What 
is believing on Christ? Make it so plain that I 
can get hold it." 

Poor man ! The simple process is altogether 
new to him, and must be illustrated by some- 
thing similar and already known. And so, all 
along the ages, Christians and Christian ministers 
have been engaged in explaining to the humble 
inquirer the way of faith. Indeed, this is their 
chief work, and will be in constant demand to 
the end of time. The Bible prescribes the act 
of faith; they must; furnish illustration of the 
method. 



288 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Such is the work of Christian teaching — 
rendered necessary by the common difficulty of 
comprehending and performing an unaccustomed 
action, and presupposing the teacher's familiarity 
with the process of doing what is required, and 
his ability to make it plain to those who are 
groping in darkness. It deals with the question 
of method in its highest application, and shows 
how "to enter in at the strait gate" and to walk 
in " the -narrow way that leadeth to life." 

That this is the true view of the Christian's 
special work in behalf of others is fully con- 
firmed bv the terms of the Q*reat commission to 
the Church. "Go and teach all nations," said 
the risen Lord, "teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you." 
Here disciples themselves may well ask the 
question of method. Wtiat they are to do is 
definitely answered; they are to teach and to 
teach the observance — not the mere knowledge — 
of Christ's commands. But what is teaching? 
Hozl' shall we do it so as to win and to save ? 
How teach not only the duty, but the way and 
means, of obedience? 

It should be remarked that this is a question 
of the method of imparting the very knowledge 
needed by the world — the knowledge of method, 
or how to do the words of Christ. Happily it 



THE QUESTION OF METHOD. 289 

has sufficient answer and abundant practical 
illustration in Christ's own example, who is the 
perfect Model of method in teaching and in doing 
all else. This fact should attract attention, and 
give prominence to the question of method in 
the family, the Sunday-school, the pulpit, and 
the whole life and work of the Christian. 

Have we not, then, sufficient warrant for say- 
ing that the whole subject of method should 
undergo a careful and thorough review? It is a 
broad question and covers every enterprise of the 
Church. Are we successful in our way of do- 
ing things? If only partially so, may not a better 
method be discovered and adopted? If failure 
appears at any point, is it not attributable to a 
wrong or defective method ? 

The number of laborers, or of such as are 
able to labor, is not small; and there is really 
an abundance of sincere and earnest effort put 
forth by the Church. But what are the re- 
sults? Are they commensurate with the work 
performed? Take any department for the ex- 
amination — the Sunday-school, the work of the 
Christian home, the labors of the ministry, the 
support of the peculiar institutions of the Church 
such as the class-meeting, and attempts to reach 
the outcasts of society, to reclaim infidels, or 
to correct popular evils like intemperance and 

19 



29O HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Sabbath breaking. What is the measure of our 
success in all or in any one of these? Certainly 
far less than we desire — less even than we seem 
authorized to expect. 

What and w T here is the fault? Are we doing 
work by machinery which could be done better 
by hand? Do we drive on through the crowd 
in chariots when we should walk in sandals? 
Have w T e the spirit and words and manner of 
brothers among our fellows? Are we sure of 
using the best method possible — the method 
the Master would use were he present in the 
body to do the same work? 

Let us seek and inquire diligently and pray- 
erfully for the true answer. Whatever fellow 
laborers of other Churches may do in so grave 
a matter, certainly Methodists, who are true to 
their name, will thus entertain the question of 
method. 



DEFECTIVE METHODS. 29 1 



XLV. 

Defective Methods. 

ARE the insufficient results of Christian work 
in any part traceable to defects in the 
methods employed ? From what has been here- 
tofore said on the subject of method, there seems 
to be a strong presumption that such is the fact. 
At any rate, the question is worthy of further 
consideration. 

Taking for granted, what is perhaps too freely 
conceded by common complaint, that results are 
meager and out of all proportion to the efforts 
expended — and this is sometimes unquestionably 
true — where is the cause? 

In other things we look to the work itself, 
and find, in the majority of instances, that toil 
is fruitless and energy is wasted simply because 
effort is misapplied. Ignorance or neglect of the 
right method of doing any thing is actually and 
necessarily a cause of failure, notwithstanding 
the utmost zeal and activity. From the very 
nature of the case, and by the evidence of innu- 
merable facts, we are forced to the conclusion 



292 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

that difference of method, in its broadest signifi- 
cation, may and generally does constitute all the 
difference between failure and success. Indeed, 
it is a self-evident proposition that no one suc- 
ceeds in any work without knowing how, and 
acting accordingly. 

Do results follow 7 the same law when human 
agency is employed in its highest sphere, the 
work of the Gospel? Why not? The divine 
blessing is necessary to success in every good 
undertaking; but it is generally, if not always, 
bestowed on condition of the intelligent use of 
the right means. Is distinctive Christian work, 
among all the forms of labor, a solitary excep- 
tion ? No one can for a moment entertain such 
a thought. 

This is in a peculiar sense God's own work, 
to which, in admitting human co-operation, he 
has granted the encouragement of special prom- 
ises. Here, if anywhere, we may regard success 
as certain, and even look for results beyond the 
measure of the means employed by men. If, 
then, failure appears at any point, it certainly 
can not be attributed to a capricious withholding 
of the divine blessing, or to any indifference or 
neglect on the part of God. The fault must be 
somewhere in the human agency. It can not be 
deficiency of power, if the power possessed is 



DEFECTIVE METHODS. 293 

fully employed ; for any lack in this respect is 
amply provided for by the sure pledge of divine 
aid. If all possible effort within the range of 
human ability is put forth, without commen- 
surate results, it is more than probable that the 
fault consists in some neglect of adaptation, 
some mistake concerning the means or the 
process, some defect in the method of doing 
the work. 

What, then, are the probable defects of the 
ordinary methods of Christian work in its vari- 
ous departments? 

The main point is to secure attention to this 
one question, and lead all concerned to its thor- 
ough investigation. It has been quite too gen- 
erally overlooked, while explanation of acknowl- 
edged failure has been sought in other directions. 
It is a well-known tendency of human nature to 
adhere to any established method, to keep on in 
the old way from sheer force of habit, and on 
the assumption that all is right, without taking 
the trouble to stop and ask such a question. In 
a plain matter of business, like that of carrying 
a grist to mill on horseback with a stone in one 
end of the bag to keep it balanced, a defective 
method would doubtless soon be discovered ; 
but let the question be transferred to matters a 
little more occult, and it is quite another thing. 



294 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

If it is worth while to correct a fault in that 
which is least, how much more in the greatest 
of all. The bare probability of any defect in the 
way of doing work for the Master should awaken 
earnest inquiry and secure prompt remedy. 

The most profitable answer to the question, 
and the only one covering particular cases and 
embracing the needed specifications, is with indi- 
vidual workers, and may be found by careful 
study of their own methods. 

Let these be analyzed, and considered in the 
bearing of every part on the results sought. 
Are they adapted to the qualities and condition 
of the material on which the work is wrought — 
such, for instance, as the general properties of 
mind, the peculiarities of the child to be in- 
structed and trained, or the circumstances, prej- 
udices, and wants of the widely different classes 
of society? Do they conform to the nature of 
the work itself — teaching the truth as it is in 
Jesus, so as to interest, and win, and save? Do 
they, in the several particulars of spirit, means, 
and process, meet all the requirements of the 
case? These and similar questions will be likely 
to detect the real qualities of any method, and 
bring to light its hidden faults. 

Every one, who works at all, has some 
method, fixed or variable, which may be thus 



DEFECTIVE METHODS. 29S 

examined, and far better by himself than by any 
one else. Defects, more or less serious, are 
probable in every case ; but they are never so 
clearly seen or so readily corrected as when 
sought and found by one's own effort. 

Certain methods, however, may be called 
ordinary, as being in common use with only the 
slightest variations. They are open to general 
criticism, and require much more of it than a 
paragraph can supply. Some of them are as 
inflexible and soulless as a machine, and are 
wholly mechanical in their operation. Others 
are empirical, like patent medicines, recom- 
mended for all cases, and used without the least 
discrimination. Not a few are stereotyped, after 
the manner of books, and can not therefore be 
changed, though sadly in need of new editions, 
revised and improved. On the other hand, the 
best methods are somewhat like good trees, uni- 
form in a few general features, with the numer- 
ous specific differences which mark the individual 
or species, and all endowed with a living growth 
and bearing the fruit for which they were de- 
signed. Such methods of Christian work conform 
to the general principles regulating the commu- 
nication of knowledge and the influence of mind 
upon mind, and suitably apply them to the pecul- 
iarities of particular cases. 



2g6 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

In ordinary methods, the most probable defect 
is a lack of close approach and mutual under- 
standing, sympathy, and confidence between the 
parties concerned; or of right beginning, gradual 
progress, and minute life-like detail at the fitting 
opportunity ; or of patient repetition, loving 
persistence, with wise adaptation to individual 
peculiarities, and the enthusiastic earnestness of 
a faith which laughs at impossibilities and resolves 
it shall be done. 



NECESSITY OF SPECIAL TRAINING. 297 



XLVI. 

Necessity of Special Training. 

WITHOUT detracting from the value of the 
broad and liberal education which aims at 
the systematic development of all the powers 
of mind and body, special training for every pro- 
fession or pursuit of life is now justly regarded as 
a necessity. With the wider range of knowledge 
and action opened before us in the progress of 
civilization, this necessity is becoming more and 
more apparent. 

No one can know and do every thing equally 
well. The best results are reached by the divis- 
ion of labor and the exercise of the skill which 
is obtained by special application in each depart- 
ment, and the best results of all effort is what the 
world needs and demands. The tendency of the 
age is, therefore, toward specialties in science, in 
art, and in all the industries of life. 

Not even genius for a chosen calling exempts 
its possessor from the necessity of special train- 
ing if he would attain the greatest success. How 
much more, then, is such training necessary 



298 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

where no special aptitude exists. In such cases, 
and they are by far the most numerous, all suc- 
cess must depend upon the skill acquired by 
practice under suitable instruction. So, then, 
whatever be the general culture, special training 
must be superadded to secure the highest quali- 
fication for any work. 

If this is true in independent individual enter- 
prise, it must be also, by still greater reason, 
where lar^e results are sought by extensive com- 
binations, as in the art of war or in the work of 
the Church. 

In the organization of armies for real service 
military drill is deemed indispensable. It antici- 
pates the battle, and renders the part which each 
one has to perform perfectly familiar by constant 
repetition beforehand. It aims at the greatest 
effectiveness by securing for all the separate and 
combined movements of the conflict the full force 
of established habit. To a certain extent it may 
be simply preparatory by exercises, conformed 
to the manual, in the school or the camp ; but 
to be complete it requires the sterner discipline 
of actual war. This brings out the highest mili- 
tary qualities, constitutes " veterans," whose su- 
periority is sure to be seen in the tests of the 
campaign, and gives to an army of able-bodied 
men the utmost effective strength. The neces- 



NECESSITY OF SPECIAL TRAINING. 299 

sity of thorough discipline has been so fully 
demonstrated in all the history of war, that no 
government would be justified in sending to the 
field raw, undisciplined troops, except in the 
greatest emergency; and therefore no govern- 
ment requiring an army is found guilty of neg- 
lecting special military instruction and drill. 

Now, if the Church is a grand military organi- 
zation — not figuratively, but in stern reality and 
in the highest and best sense of resistance, at- 
tack, and conquest — what shall we say of special 
training for the Christian warfare? Is it not ab- 
solutely indispensable? Should it not be ac- 
cepted as a fundamental and vital necessity in 
every department of the service, and in the case 
of all recruits, young and old, from the least to 
the greatest? Can it be neglected without im- 
minent peril, not only to the individual, but to 
the whole army ? 

The fact is, no work in the world demands 
special personal and associated training, and the 
resultant skill and force, more imperatively than 
this, which comprehends in its issues the safety 
of the soul and the deliverance of the race. To 
talk or play the soldier merely is to remain in 
bondage still, and to leave the world under the 
rule of ruin. The nature of the contest, its 
weapons and methods, and the character of the 



300 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

foe offer no place for " carpet knights." Not 
even the promised aid of Omnipotence procures 
exemption from utmost effort. Every Christian 
is a soldier in very deed, and must fight or per- 
ish. Every Christian, therefore, needs the dis- 
cipline of a soldier for his own defense, as well 
as for his usefulness in behalf of others. And 
all Christians should be so united, organized, 
and trained as to secure for every one and for 
the whole body the greatest possible effective- 
ness in the overthrow and extermination of ig- 
norance, error, and sin. 

This special Christian training belongs partly 
to each individual, who must seek and accept it, 
and, for the other part, to parents and pastors 
and teachers, who are bound by the most sol- 
emn obligations to institute it in suitable forms, 
and conduct it wisely and well. It should begin 
at the earliest age in the family, in connection 
with the daily life, and be carried forward steadily 
in the Sunday-school and the Church by means 
and methods which God has provided; and not 
one of the weakest or most obscure should ever 
be overlooked. 

But this training implies work connected with 
instruction, something for every one to do con- 
tinually. It supposes, therefore, great earnest- 
ness and activity in the Church, the progress of 



NECESSITY OF SPECIAL TRAINING. 301 

forward movements bringing out the whole force, 
and the wise administration of all its affairs. Only 
a living, aggressive Church can train up good 
soldiers for Christ. Thus the training necessary 
to the individual is closely connected with all the 
interests of the Church. It is, indeed, the one 
great work and need of the Church, and all the 
more because it is not neglected among the op- 
posing forces. It is the great idea of the Gospel, 
first and last, and is made prominent in all the 
dispensations of Providence. 

God himself provides special personal disci- 
pline for man in all the circumstances and events 
of his earthly life, as well as in the religious du- 
ties required by the written Word. In fact, we 
may regard the whole period of human probation 
as a scheme of special training, where God di- 
rects the process, permits our co-operation, and 
furnishes all needful aid. If, then, God gives 
command, to become fully qualified for his serv- 
ice is of the highest obligation, and should be 
the steady, earnest aim of all who really mean to 
serve the Lord of all. 

That which is so important for every Chris- 
tian, as such, and for the whole body of the 
Church, is, if possible, still more necessary for 
such as are invested with the responsibilities of 
teachers, and are thus required to train others. 



302 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Ministers of the Gospel, Sunday-school teachers, 
parents, and all every-where who are contribut- 
ing by their influence to the formation of char- 
acter, need special study and training themselves 
in order to do well the greatest work committed 
to human beings. 

It is passing strange that a necessity so ob- 
vious should not secure more earnest heed, and 
that systematic attempts to meet it should ever 
be regarded as an innovation, 

The apostles sought to be "able ministers of 
the New Testament," and exhorted others to 
''study to show themselves approved unto God, 
workmen that needed not to be. ashamed. " Not 
to mention other Churches, the fathers of Meth- 
odism provided for the training of the early itin- 
erants, not by Biblical Institutes — for at that 
time such schools could not be adapted to the 
case — but by preparatory labor and experience 
as class-leaders, exhorters, and local preachers, 
and by probation in the conference and the dis- 
cipline of hard service as junior preachers on 
circuits with competent colleagues. And, in- 
deed, the whole economy of the Church recog- 
nizes the necessity of special training. It should 
therefore be provided for workers of every grade 
and in every department — no one contradicting. 
Institutes of every kind, for pastors and Sun- 



NECESSITY OF SPECIAL TRAINING. 303 

day-school teachers, and all efforts at special 
training, should receive the heartiest encourage- 
ment and support. Any other policy is blind 
and ruinous. 

Let us, then, submit to a necessity imposed 
by the Author of our being, and show by thor- 
oughness of training our exalted estimate of the 
Master's work. 



304 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XLVII. 

Our Secular Relations. 

NOTHING is more common than to hear 
Christians complain of business as interfer- 
ing with their religious enjoyments ; and there 
really does seem to be something wrong in the 
matter. But we confess our inability to discover 
any necessary antagonism between legitimate 
business and spiritual life. Indeed, we doubt 
whether such a discovery has ever been made 
by any one. Antagonism there may be, but is it 
necessary? Does it arise from the constitution 
of things, or from something incidental and 
avoidable? 

If some real evil is lurking in our secular 
relations, it is well to know just where and what 
it is, how it came there, who is responsible for it, 
and what may be done for its removal. At least 
one point is gained if we can show that, whatever 
it may be, it is not intrinsic and necessary. 

In the ordinary way of thinking and speak- 
ing, the work of the Christian ministry is a 
sacred calling, and every other is secular. Per- 



OUR SECULAR RELATIONS. 305 

haps for the sake of convenience it is well to 
make this distinction. The ministerial calling is 
peculiarly sacred, since it deals more specially 
and directly with sacred things, and with such 
as are of transcendent import. It is therefore 
worthy of all the honor and reverence which it 
usually receives. Even this calling, however, in 
strictness of speech, is secular; for it is pursued 
in the world, and for the world, and requires the 
co-operation of numerous worldly agencies, and 
so will continue even unto the end of the world. 
Is it any the less sacred because of these secular 
connections ? 

And the other callings — while distinctly sec- 
ular, are they in no sense sacred ? Different 
qualities may be combined in the same thing; 
and many things are quite distinct without being 
mutually opposed. So it is here. The antith- 
esis implied in the ordinary use of the terms 
secular and sacred is a mere assumption, resting 
upon no essential inconsistency of the one with 
the other. Every calling in life should be both 
secular and sacred. There is nothing in the real 
nature of material things — whatever may be said 
of their use, there is no intrinsic evil — to render 
them inimical to the highest spiritual interests. 

No being in the universe has more to do with 

secular affairs than God himself. He made the 

20 



306 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

world, owns the world, governs the world, and 
is present throughout the world, upholding all 
things by the word of his power. The laws of 
nature, so called, are only the methods of his 
operation. Without his presence and aid no 
flowers bloom ; no harvests ripen ; the telegraphs, 
railroads, steamships, and factories are silent; 
not a wheel of the world's machinery moves; 
and all secular life is at once arrested. His care 
extends even to the most minute functions of 
our bodies, and. not a sparrow falls to the ground 
without his notice. And this world is only one 
of a countless number, in which he is the same 
all-pervading and controlling Presence. 

The old heathen doctrine of the essential de- 
pravity and evil influence of matter was one of 
the vain conceits of the human understanding, 
unable to see God in his works, and beholding 
all things through the discolored medium of its 
own evil passions. There is, indeed, opposition 
to God arising from his own creatures — the great 
sad fact in the history of angels and men ; but 
it is strictly confined to intelligent spirits, or free 
moral agents. Through the whole realm of mat- 
ter, and among all the ranks of animated being 
below 7 the human soul, not the slightest trace can 
be found of antagonism to God. 

Is not this fact enough? If God is in such 



OUR SECULAR RELATIONS. 307 

intimate association and harmony with the vis- 
ible forms of his own creation, there surely can 
be no incompatibility between them and his life 
in the souls of men. 

As God is connected with matter, so also is 
man, though in a different way. The connection 
of the soul with the body, and through the body 
with the world at large, is one of the greatest 
wonders of creation. So far as we know, there 
is nothing like it in the universe. 

By this close relation to the material world 
God gives us dominion over it, and invests us 
with a subordinate sovereignty bearing some 
distant resemblance to his own. He thus takes 
us into a kind of copartnership in the adminis- 
tration of secular affairs, and cements this part- 
nership by making soul and body dependent 
upon himself. Such is the honor with which 
he has distinguished us among his intelligent 
creatures, and it certainly can not be an honor 
fraught with necessary evil. We stand related 
on the one side to created matter, and on the 
other to the Creating Spirit, combining in our 
own constitution the nature of both. This is 
union — not antagonism — organized by infinite 
wisdom and goodness. The connection of the 
"living soul" with the present world was the 
crowning work of the creation; and when t4 God 



308 HALF HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

saw every thing that he had made, behold it 
was very good." 

Are we authorized now to pronounce a dif- 
ferent sentence? Can any one believe that God's 
order in nature is really at variance with the 
interests which called forth the gift of his only 
begotten Son? 

The natural and the spiritual are only distinct 
departments of one vast domain, in which "the 
Lord our God is one Lord." Each has its own 
provisions and laws; but they are from the same 
Lawgiver, and can never therefore come into 
mutual conflict. 

The harmony of the universe is nowhere more 
apparent than in the established relation of mat- 
ter and mind. The former is made subject to 
the latter, and is designed to serve the higher 
interests. The body, when duly controlled, 
faithfully performs its office as the tenement and 
instrument of the 'soul. So also is all related 
matter in some way subservient, when rightly 
used. 

For reasons which thus appear, the first man 
was put into the garden of Eden "to dress it 
and to keep it;" and there he found a legitimate 
business, while enjoying the highest spiritual 
privileges. Since then the whole earth eastward 
and westward has become a garden, which the 



OUR SECULAR RELATIONS. 309 

Lord God has planted and peopled, provided 
with suitable occupations, and blessed with all 
the means required for the higher life. Though 
man himself has changed, the fundamental laws 
and conditions of his well-being remain the same. 
Some useful worldly employment, some contact 
with material things, is still necessary to the best 
spiritual development, and even to perfect mental 
soundness. 

Is it not probable that the evil complained of 
is, after all, to be found much nearer home — 
within rather than without? 



3IO HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XLVIII. 

The Evil in Business. 

IT seems to be taken for granted, by many- 
persons, that they can not attain the largest 
growth in grace while engaged in business, and 
burdened with its cares. Whether this is their 
sincere belief or not, it unhappily serves as an 
apology for a low spiritual condition. They 
could be much better Christians were they in 
other circumstances, where they would have less 
to do with the world. If instances are adduced 
where eminent piety has been found in the most 
active business life, such cases are, in their esti- 
mation, exceptional; it can not be so with them. 
Now, if what they allege of themselves is 
true, it should be looked into at once, and relief 
should be obtained at any cost. What are the 
interests of a brief temporal business, which 
may be suspended at any moment, as compared 
with the welfare of the soul? It is better, infi- 
nitely better, if need be, to withdraw entirely 
from the world, and to suffer the loss of all 
earthly things, than to fail of eternal life. But 



THE EVIL IN BUSINESS. 311 

it is not necessary; God has not so ordered it. 
He has placed us here, and evidently intends 
that we shall remain here, in the midst of 
worldly employments, until he calls us up 
higher. He is here himself, and has constituted 
the world to be occupied and used by just such 
beings as we are, in humble dependence upon 
his favor and aid. 

But evil is here also ; and, as it consists in 
opposition to God, there must be more or less 
of it in any business which stands opposed to 
his kingdom in the human soul. As evil can 
not exist in the nature of the things which enter 
into our business occupations, we must look for 
it in their use, or, rather, their abuse. 

The abuse of the best gifts is possible from 
the very nature of free moral agents. It is pos- 
sible before infirmity is contracted by sin. It is 
possible, even without the intervention of any 
material things whatever. "The angels who 
kept not their first estate," which consisted of 
the highest spiritual gifts and privileges, were 
guilty of perverting them to a wrong use. It 
scarcely need be added, that they suffered in 
consequence a loss never to be repaired. 

In the same way occurred the first great 
spiritual injury to man. The trees of the garden 
were all good, not excepting that whose fruit 



312 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

was forbidden, and were in no sense the cause 
of sin. It was simply the question of their 
use which man decided. This question was not 
left in doubt, to be made a matter of exper- 
iment. The wrong use was clearly pointed 
out, and expressly forbidden, by the just and 
beneficent law of the Creator; but, after all, the 
wrong use prevailed — with what results, we know 
to our sorrow. 

So has it been through all history, and so it 
is still — natural good perverted to an evil use, 
with consequences to correspond. Not a little 
of the business of the world is notoriously and 
outrageously evil, not by reason of the nature 
of the things used, but always and solely by 
their unlawful use. In all cases the results are 
the same as were declared in the beginning — 
injury and ruin to the soul, and often to the 
body. Death is the wages of sin ; sin is the 
transgression of the law ; the law relates to 
use — the use of all that God has given — pre- 
scribing the right, or prohibiting the wrong; 
and the use of whatever he is or has is submit- 
ted to the decision of every responsible individ- 
ual. Such is the stream whose fountain is the 
human heart and will. Since the first breaking 
away from law, and with the moral infirmity 
thus entailed, the tendency to wrong use has 



THE EVIL IN BUSINESS. 313 

become so deep and strong as to corrupt the 
world's life, and produce all the evil in business. 

With Christians, it may be supposed that the 
evil is corrected at the fountain-head, according 
to the evident purpose of the Gospel ; and this 
is the fact when the understanding is duly en- 
lightened, and the work of the Holy Spirit is 
fully accomplished and maintained in the heart. 
Certainly no one can be considered a Christian 
whose business is in any way immoral, as when 
it is hurtful to society, or is carried on by open 
or secret fraud, extortion, and the like. But it 
often happens that false views of life are enter- 
tained, or the Spirit's work in the heart is by 
some means hindered ; and, in any case, the 
natural liability to error still remains. 

Thus it is possible for real Christians to mis- 
use the things of this life, not in the grosser 
ways of vice, and yet to their own great spirit- 
ual injury. In fact, nearly all who are engaged 
in what is considered legitimate business are 
more or less involved in worldliness, which is 
only another name for misuse of the world. In 
this form the evil is so wide-spread, and withal 
so injurious in its effects, as to give occasion for 
very serious concern. 

It therefore behooves every Christian to in- 
quire into his own business life, and carefully 



314 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

compare it with the whole law of God. The 
one great question for all is, How do we use 
worldly things? 

In considering this question, every one should 
bear in mind that it comprehends far more than 
outward acts. No answer can be just or safe if 
it stops here. Right or wrong use begins in the 
heart, and, like a stream to be explored, must 
be followed up to its very fountain. It is not 
difficult to see that the part taken by the hands 
in the use of worldly things is small, compared 
with that of the feelings, desires, and purposes. 

The law of God, therefore, very properly 
traces all actions to their source, and becomes a 
"discerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
heart." It accomplishes its purpose concerning 
external things by regulating the whole internal 
machinery called into play in their use. It is 
quite as clear and explicit in its application to 
the heart as to the outward life, while it is the 
one appointed standard of present test and of 
the final judgment. 

Now, in every case where business interferes 
with spiritual interests, let it be be thoroughly 
tested by the Word of God, and the mystery is 
solved at once. Some evil, within or without, 
will surely be brought to light. 

Perhaps it is excessive devotion to worldly 



THE EVIL IN BUSINESS. 315 

pursuits, which is an abuse simply because it is 
excessive, absorbing both time and strength, to 
the neglect of other and higher duties. Or, 
perhaps, in the motives of business, self is tak- 
ing the place which belongs to the Lord Jesus, 
who "died for all, that they which live should 
not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto 
him who died for them and rose again." Or it 
may be that worst of all abuses — allowing worldly 
things to become the rival of God in the affec- 
tions of the heart. 

Concerning these and all other perversions of 
the gifts of God, the light which has come into 
the world leaves not a single doubt ; and every 
one who comes to the light may be sure that 
spiritual loss is a necessary result of any evil in 
business. 



316 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



XLIX. 

Conversion of Money. 

MONEY is convertible, in a commercial sense 
at least; otherwise it would be of no value. 
Its chief purpose is to represent property as a con- 
venient medium of exchange. Whatever answers 
this purpose may be called money, whether it be 
the shells and beads of savage tribes or the bank- 
notes, bills of exchange, and coin of civilization. 
The money of one country may be converted 
into that of any other, through a comprehensive 
system of exchange provided and maintained 
among all civilized nations. Without such an ar- 
rangement travel and commerce would, of course, 
be impossible. If money were not readily con- 
vertible at certain rates of value into any desired 
commodity, any thing offered for sale and re- 
quired for use, it would lose at once the character 
of money. 

But in a far higher and nobler sense money is 
capable of conversion. 

Heaven is a country which many of us are 
seeking as a permanent home, w r here we expect 



CONVERSION OF MONEY. 317 

to dwell through a happy eternity. It is none 
the less real because it is out of sight and a 
purely spiritual realm ; and, indeed, it lies just 
before us, separated^ at the furthest, by only a few 
short years. There, as well as here, we shall 
have need of treasure; but in our passage thither 
we shall be compelled to leave behind us all our 
earthly possessions. Even were it possible to 
carry our money with us, it would be found to 
be uncurrent there. Must, then, the accumula- 
tions of honest toil, the results of life-long labor 
in the present world, amount to nothing with the 
emigrant in his future home? Have the treas- 
ures of earth no equivalent in heaven? Let the 
question be fairly considered, and it becomes in- 
vested with the most intense interest. 

Happily, a system of transfer has been es- 
tablished, which is simple, safe, and effective. 
Every Christian pilgrim may here convert his 
money into heavenly riches, and send it on 
before. 

To the young inquirer in the Gospel the Lord 
of both worlds said, "Go and sell that thou hast, 
and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treas- 
ure in heaven. ,, And to all he gives the com- 
mand, "Provide yourselves bags which wax not 
old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, 
where no thief approacheth, nor moth corrupt- 



318 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

eth." Explicit directions for doing this are found 
in the apostolic charge to such as have any por- 
tion of the riches of this world: "That they be 
not high-minded/ nor trust in uncertain riches, 
but in the living God, who giveth us richly all 
things to enjoy; that they do good; that they 
be rich in good works, ready to distribute, will- 
ing to communicate, laying up in store for them- 
selves a good foundation against the time to 
come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." 

Thus there is brought to light in the Gospel 
the great fact of the intimate connection of earth 
with heaven, the far-reaching effects of the pres- 
ent life, and the glorious possibilities of earthly 
toil Some part of every dollar, lawfully earned 
amid the busy scenes of a fleeting and material 
world, may be added to "an inheritance incor- 
ruptible, and undefiled, and that fad eth not away, 
reserved in heaven," to await our entrance upon 
its eternal possession. The investment can be 
made with the utmost ease, in the largest or the 
smallest sum, without cost for premium, and 
on occasions continually present and pressing. 
Every benevolent society of the Church is a 
duly constituted bank of exchange, and every 
Christian enterprise affords a sure and expedi- 
tious means of transfer. 

To the sordid worldling, intent only upon the 



CONVERSION OF MONEY. 319 

things of this life, this may all seem to be vision- 
ary and unreliable; but to the Christian, who 
"looks not at the things which are seen, but at 
the things which are not seen," nothing can be 
more certain or more inviting. Spiritual benefits 
or good done to the souls of men shall abide 
forever; and into such good his money may in a 
thousand ways be converted. Is it any wonder, 
then, that he is industrious, economical, and be- 
nevolent? Can a higher or stronger motive be 
furnished for money-making and money-giving? 

The fact is, the whole scheme of systematic 
beneficence, established by the Gospel of Christ, 
is in effect quite as beneficent to the benefactor 
as to the beneficiary. It is really one of the 
greatest privileges which God has bestowed upon 
man, and converts the otherwise sordid transac- 
tions of worldly business into an exalted Chris- 
tian work, whose fruits shall be gathered in the 
skies. 

But while this conversion of money into spir- 
itual benefits infallibly secures a provision for 
"everlasting habitations," it has other most im- 
portant aspects and sanctions. 

"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness 
thereof, the world and they that dwell therein." 
This remains true through the whole course of 
human rebellion ; God can never relinquish claim 



320 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

to any part of his own domain. But the rebell- 
ion which has covered the earth has also wick- 
edly perverted its fullness. To a very great ex- 
tent, the wealth of the world has been turned 
against God and his kingdom, taking his place 
iii the hearts of men, and becoming his rival in 
the service of their lives. Even when it is not 
acquired by methods of evil, it is often devoted 
to forbidden uses, and made the means of ruin 
to soul and body. As the object of an idola- 
trous regard and one of the chief agencies of the 
powers of darkness, money has obtained an in- 
famous distinction, and is appropriately called in 
the Scriptures "filthy lucre" and "the mammon 
of unrighteousness." Beyond all question, it 
needs to be converted to God, changed from a 
curse to a blessing, restored to right practical 
relations to God as the great Proprietor of all, 
and to men as the stewards of his bounty. 

Such a conversion of money is indispensable 
to the conversion of the world, not only because 
money is a part of the world which has been 
estranged from God, but also for the reason that 
it is a most important instrumentality in the 
prosecution of the great work. So far as this 
work is committed to human agency it requires 
the combination of labor and capital, of con- 
verted men and converted means; and the latter 



CONVERSION OF MONEY. 32 1 

is as necessary as the former. When money has 
been fully turned "from darkness to light and 
from the power of Satan unto God," it becomes 
at once as mighty an agency for good as it was 
before for evil, and shares with God and man the 
glorious co-partnership of the work of human re- 
demption. 

But the task of converting money belongs to 
men, to men of God laboring in the world. It 
is the great problem of Christian business, and 
gives to that business a peculiar significance and 
the highest importance. 

The process is exceedingly plain and simple. 
The conversion of any business man may be sup- 
posed to reach and include his pocket, his houses, 
lands, and merchandise, all that he has or is able 
to acquire. This is a matter of course ; for how 
can it be otherwise? The cause carries with it 
the effect; the greater includes the less; the con- 
version of soul and body embraces the results 
of their joint action. Whoever yields to God 
all that he is, yields also all that he has. The 
property of all true Christians may be assumed, 
therefore, to be already converted. Now let 
them proceed in business on Christian princi- 
ples, under the mighty inspiration of the love 
of Christ, and all the money they make is so 

much more secured and dedicated to God. 

21 



322 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



A 



"For Value Received.' ' 

S every body knows, this is the regular and 
significant formula of business. Commer- 
cial transactions, in order to be such, always 
suppose a consideration, — value received for 
value rendered. Otherwise, they sink below the 
level of legitimate business into the depths of 
fraud and crime, or, taking the opposite direc- 
tion, rise to the heights of pure beneficence. 
Honesty requires that the actual exchange of 
commodities shall be made on the basis of equiv- 
alents fairly estimated; and so jealously are the 
rights of property guarded, that if the exchange 
on the one part remains to be completed at some 
future time according to the terms of a written 
pledge, that pledge must acknowledge the value 
received. This is simple buying and selling, 
with due regard to individual rights; and the 
rule of equal values is unquestionably of immense 
importance to all the interests of business. 

To some extent, the same rule seems to be 
carried into effect outside of strictly commercial 



"FOR VALUE RECEIVED." 323 

transactions. Among a certain class of people, 
ordinary social relations are often adjusted upon 
a basis of carefully estimated equivalents. Court- 
esies are shown, favors are bestowed, and serv- 
ices are rendered from merely mercenary motives. 
Nothing of the kind is ever done without the 
implied expectation of interchange and recipro- 
cation, thus cutting off every case where such 
expectation can not be met. The question most 
frequently asked is, "Will it pay? Will the 
probable advantages to be derived from this or 
that neighborly act be a sufficient compensa- 
tion for the necessary expenditure of time and 
trouble?" 

With persons who are governed only by the 
motives implied in such soliloquizing, friendship 
itself is brought into the market, and rated 
according to the value received or expected. 
If a friend, so called, has both the ability and 
the willingness to serve one, he is to be retained 
at any cost not exceeding the value of his serv- 
ices ; if lacking in either, he is of no further 
account, even though he be a man of the highest 
personal worth. 

Under this rule, the worth of any human 
being is estimated, not by his intrinsic qualities 
of character or his general usefulness to man- 
kind, but rather by the use to which he can be 



324 HAI.F-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

put in promoting- the personal ends of the party 
particularly interested. If men of wealth, posi- 
tion, or influence, are courted by special and 
perhaps obsequious attentions, it is not out of 
respect to their real merits, but solely in view 
of the probable profit of their favor; and when 
their favor ceases to have an appreciable value 
they at once sink out of sight among the com- 
mon herd. The self-seeking politician is con- 
spicuously devoted to his constituents, so long 
as he can hope for their support ; his political 
allies are in like manner subservient to his 
wishes, until they receive their utmost share of 
the spoils; and the mutual casting off takes 
place when nothing more can be expected. But 
this is only a familiar example in the sphere 
of politics. 

Such is the way of the world in nearly all 
its combinations and alliances, from the relations 
subsisting between nations down to the simplest 
interchanges of social life. Whatever may be 
the nature of the benefit, it is bestowed on the 
consideration that "one good turn deserves 
another," and is accepted with the pledge, ex- 
pressed or implied, "I '11 do as much for you 
some time." Thus the rendering of favors only 
for value received or anticipated, while it is not 
without noble exceptions, has the sanction of a 



"FOR VALUE RECEIVED." 325 

quite too common practice, and almost the force 
of a general rule. 

What better could be expected under the 
reign of sordid selfishness? Its most approved 
mottoes are unblushingly flaunted before the 
eyes of men: "All baggage at the risk of the 
owner!" "Look out for No. 1 !" "Every man 
for himself!" and many more of the same sort. 
Such a spirit is often restive under the exactions 
of simple justice, and would wantonly violate all 
the sanctities of honorable business, but for the 
restraints of law and the danger to personal 
interests. Indeed, as opportunity serves, it 
occasionally breaks through all restraints, and 
gives ample proof of its very light esteem for 
even the established moralities of trade. What 
wonder, then, if men who are animated by no 
better spirit generally set aside the obligations 
of benevolence, and carry their only motives 
into all the relations of life? They simply fol- 
low their natural bent and their cherished habits 
of feeling and action. 

But is such selfishness to be universal and 
supreme, having all men under its control ? 
What of those who are called Christians? Are 
not they to be, in this respect, always and alto- 
gether unlike the mercenary men of the world ? 

Surely, the law proclaimed by Him who 



326 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

"taught as one having authority" gives promise 
of an entire change in the fundamental principle 
of social intercourse. "For if ye love them 
which love you, what reward have ye? Do not 
even the publicans the same? And if ye salute 
your brethren only, what do ye more than 
others? Do not even the publicans so?" "And 
if ye do good to them which do good to you, 
what thank have ye? for sinners also do even 
the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye 
hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners 
also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, 
hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall 
be great, and ye shall be the children of the 
Highest ; for he is kind u^ito the unthankful and 
to the evil." 

So there is a new and better life for men, 
even here. The world, where selfishness has 
usurped so controlling an influence, is something 
more than a mere mart for traders. Human 
beings have higher functions than buying and 
selling and getting gain. Their choicest treas- 
ures and noblest services have no price at all, 
and never appear in the market. While ren- 
dering value for value received in matters of 
exchange — thus providing things honest in the 
sight of all men — it is also their high prerogative 



"FOR VALUE RECEIVED." 327 

freely to give, hoping for nothing again. Trade 
is like a faithful servant, charged with the duty 
of procuring needful supplies on equitable prin- 
ciples; benevolence, as master of the house, gen- 
erously dispenses the commodities of trade, and 
its own richer treasures, to the one end of the 
greatest possible good. The proper motives of 
trade are found in the demands of benevolence; 
and the double office belongs to every man by 
virtue of his own higher nature and his manifold 
relations to others. 

But, while benevolence seeks no equivalent 
for gifts bestowed or services rendered, nothing 
in all the enterprises of trade brings such sure 
and large returns. Under the administration 
of God, it becomes its own exceedingly great 
reward, enriching the soul, beautifying the life, 
and securing a happiness which is infinitely 
more than " value received. " 



328 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 



LI. 

Under the Same Law. 

IT is an interesting practical question, whether 
one man is bound more than another to 
devote himself entirely to the service of Christ, 
or the work of doing good. 

Take an instance not unfrequently occurring. 
William and John are brothers of equal, though 
different, ability. They go forth from the same 
home, are graduated at the same college, and 
then enter upon their life work, one as a minis- 
ter of the Gospel and the other as a man of 
business. William becomes extensively useful 
by entire devotion to ministerial duties; but 
receives only a comfortable support for himself 
and family, and hardly that. John prospers in 
business until he has an immense income, with 
corresponding opportunity of self-indulgence; 
and both alike are properly recognized as true 
Christians. 

Now, does the difference of calling involve a 
difference of law and obligation and purpose of 
life? Must the minister, because he is a minister, 



UNDER THE SAME LAW. 329 

make personal sacrifices for the sake of the 
kingdom of God, and his brother go entirely 
free because he is not a minister, but only a 
man of business? Can the one be bound to 
remain content with the bare necessaries or, at 
most, the ordinary comforts of life, and the other 
be at liberty to indulge in all its luxuries? 

It is not a question of power or opportunity, 
but of duty and privilege as servants of Christ. 
The minister, with less devotion to his work, 
might secure the means of luxurious ease, but 
he denies himself for the sake of doing the 
greater good. The layman already has in his 
hands the means of gratification, — and this is 
the real difference, — but shall he, like his 
brother, deny himself for the sake of doing the 
greater good? Is he equally bound to do so? 
That is the question. 

The answer can hardly be a matter of doubt. 
Whatever the law in the case may be, it is the 
same for all. Whatever the motives of service 
may be, they are possessed in common, and are 
fully sufficient for every demand. Self-denial is 
universally required, and should therefore be 
practiced, not merely where it is unavoidable, 
but freely, voluntarily, for Christ's sake. How- 
ever Christians may differ in respect to gifts and 
employments and circumstances, they all have 



330 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

the same great calling ; and that is to serve the 
one Lord to the full extent of their ability. God 
does indeed require a vast variety of service both 
of men and of means, but it is essentially one, 
and always for himself — the work of doing: all 
possible good in the world. 

In this service the minister and the layman 
have co-ordinate parts. The former — specially, 
though not exclusively — has the ministry of the 
word ; the latter — specially, though not exclu- 
sively — has the ministry of money. Both are 
indispensable to the success of the work, are 
equally worthy of their hire, and should be first 
partakers of the fruit ; but neither is at liberty 
to appropriate to his own gratifications more 
than is needful to secure the best conditions of 
continued usefulness in the common service. If 
entire devotion to doing good is required of the 
one by the eloquent use of speech, entire devo- 
tion to doing good is also required of the other 
by the consecrated use of money. 

If these statements are true — and their truth 
seems to be really self-evident — then certain very 
practical conclusions must follow. A thoroughly 
sincere and hearty belief never stops in verbal 
declarations, but goes out into every part of 
active life, and finds appropriate expression in 
every legitimate calling. 



UNDER THE SAME LAW. 331 

It certainly would be a very fine thing for 
the Church and the world if every Christian 
business man were to make and use money just 
as the minister preaches, with the same motives, 
to the same end, and under the same restric- 
tions upon self. He would probably .have more 
money or property than the minister, for that is 
his capital, or means of usefulness, like the min- 
ister's learning and eloquence; but he would 
keep it within the limits of necessary capital, 
use for himself and family only the amount 
required for a comfortable support, and then 
turn all the profits into the enterprises of hu- 
manity and God. Instead of the accumulation 
of property beyond the requirements of a safe 
and profitable business, or the squandering of 
any part of it upon needless self-indulgence, the 
whole matter of possession and use would be 
joyfully submitted to divine direction. 

In such a case, how would the secular call- 
ing, with all its vexations and temptations, be 
enriched with the inspiration and life and power 
of a present Christ ! It might then claim and 
enjoy a spiritual blessedness equal to that of 
the ministry, by reason ,of occupying the same 
exalted plane of self-denial and divine conse- 
cration. 

Besides, Christian enterprises would no longer 



332 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

go limping and halting through the world from 
paralysis of one side. Capital would be fur- 
nished along with labor, equal to the demands 
of the most rapid progress. Indeed, we might 
look for a perpetual and universal Pentecost, the 
outpouring of the Holy Ghost, and with it not 
exactly a community of goods, but such use of 
them as strictly comports with human steward- 
ship under Christ as sole Proprietor. 

"The deceitfulness of riches" is proverbial. 
Men of business are in constant association with 
the servants of mammon, and are in great danger 
of imbibing their spirit. Covetousness has innu- 
merable disguises, and is never at a loss for 
plausible pretexts. Ministers hesitate to preach 
plainly and pointedly upon the subject, lest their 
motives should be misinterpreted. Even the 
suggestions of this chapter may be treated as 
incontrovertible abstractions, suitable for a the- 
orizing student, but wholly impracticable in real 
life. What! every man bound, like the minis- 
ter, to devote himself wholly to the service of 
Christ — by making and using money, as well as 
by preaching the Word ? 

Well, it may be left as a question for lay- 
men, to be decided in the presence of the Cru- 
cified, in the light of eternity, and then in actual 
service under Christian law. 



THE TEST OF THE TILT. 333 



LIL 
The Test of the Tilt. 

TWO mailed and mounted knights happened 
to meet beneath a shield suspended over the 
way, and stopped to read its heraldry and admire 
its workmanship. Looking at it from opposite 
directions, they soon fell into a dispute concern- 
ing its material, one claiming it to be brass, 
the other, iron. Each of course was positive in 
a matter so plain to himself; and as their honor 
seemed to be involved in the mutual contradic- 
tion, the doughty knights promptly appealed to 
the arbitrament of arms. So with lances in rest 
they came together at full speed, and passing- 
each other unharmed turned to renew the tilt. 
But now they had changed places, and on again 
approaching the shield they made a startling dis- 
covery. Both had been right, and both had been 
wrong; for the shield was brass on one side, and 
iron on the other. As the onset had only reversed 
their positions without inflicting personal injury, 
their honor was duly vindicated, the whole truth 
was seen, and a wholesome lesson was taught. 



334 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

Every body has heard the story, and of course 
every body is fully convinced that every question 
has two sides, excepting — every rule has excep- 
tions — that particular question on which he him- 
self happens to be- engaged in dispute. That is 
a very different thing, not at all like the shield. 
In fact, it is just as he sees it to be; and who- 
ever opposes his view is altogether wrong, and 
either blindly or willfully opposed to the truth. 
And so the story of the shield is remembered 
only as it illustrates a glittering abstraction; but 
still it is having constant repetition in real life, 
and often with the sequel omitted. Human na- 
ture is doubtless very much the same now as in 
the days of knight-errantry; it has no new power 
by which to see both sides of a question from 
one point of observation, and is quite as much 
as ever inclined to maintain its ex parte state- 
ments by personal encounters. But unfortunately 
the prevalent method of combat brings about no 
favorable exchange of places and views; and it 
is more likely to become an absorbing trial of 
the lance than a successful search for the truth. 

But now, to make matters still worse, some- 
body declares the old and approved illustration 
to be imperfect, having only one-third of the 
actual truth. Just as if two sides to a question 
were not fully enough for honorable knights and 



THE TEST OF THE TILT. 335 

all other people, every question, it is said, is a 
cube, and therefore has six sides. 

Can this be true? What then are controver- 
sialists to do? What, but to fight on to the 
bitter end, or not fight at all? Who, in this age 
of feverish haste, can stop long enough to look 
at the six sides of any question? If the afore- 
said knights merely happened to see the other 
sides of a two-sided shield, how can modern 
knights be expected in the heat of controversy 
to discover four sides more, and end the dispute 
by finding out the truth? And if all sides must 
be seen before the tilt can be justified, how can 
any one ever have the opportunity of breaking a 
lance? Then, w 7 hat becomes of the manly art 
of — getting the victory? Must not the lance be 
thrown away, and every hero descend to the 
ignoble w r ork of turning over cubes? 

But the choice between two such widely dif- 
ferent ways of settling disputes, deeply concerns 
the interests of peace in the world, and especially 
in the Church. If the real or metaphorical tilt- 
ing of the lance in personal conflict be the one 
infallible method of getting at truth, or the 
method generally adopted, when may we look 
for peace by the universal discovery of truth? 
Let it be considered, that on any one of the 
countless questions of difference among men, 



336 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

six different parties can be brought into the 
field — all under the pretext of truth, and honor, 
and conscience — and certainly the test of the 
tilt becomes no trifling matter. And moreover, 
who knows but that instead of cubes, we may 
by and bv find dodecahedrons, and all sorts of 
polyhedrons up to the very highest number? 
Then if any polyhedral question is to call out a 
champion for every one of its sides, we can 
hardly imagine the scene of strife which must 
ensue. Already the numerous aspects of ques- 
tions relating to Christian experience, social 
reforms, and various ecclesiastical modifications, 
are having the effect of the Highland* slogan, and 
filling all the field with representative clansmen, 
eager for the fray. And what a fray it must be, 
if every possible difference of opinion is to be 
accepted as the mark of an adversary and a 
wager of battle! At such a spectacle of confu- 
sion worse confounded, even a veteran knight 
•'without fear and without reproach" might 
stand aghast, and cry out, "Let us have peace!" 
Surely there must be some better way of dis- 
covering truth than by measuring arms in a 
struggle for victory. Victory and truth are 
often widely apart, and are never identical. Had 
one of our valiant knights unhorsed the other, 
or pierced the joints of his harness, the event 



THE TEST OF THE TILT. 337 

could have had no possible effect upon the ques- 
tion in dispute. It might have silenced his oppo- 
nent, but certainly would not have proved his 
statement either true or false. Meanwhile, the 
shield was there, with both sides open to view, 
and needing only the change in position by which 
they could be discovered. Happily such change 
brought the discovery, although it was by the 
merest chance, and in despite of the absorbing 
interest of the new and altogether different ques- 
tion of knightly valor and skill. If that had been 
the point at issue, the use of arms would have 
been legitimate and decisive; but the original 
question required only the tight use of the eyes. 

A combat in itself proves nothing but the 
qualities of the combatants, and the supreme 
folly of submitting to such a test any other point 
of dispute. Whatever the question of difference 
may be, it is that and nothing else which claims 
attention and requires decision. 

In most cases, therefore, controversy in the 
interest of truth is controversy with the fighting 
left out. It may be sharp and discriminating, 
but it is sharpness of vision and discrimination of 
statement, distinguishing all the diversities of 
truth and combining them in solid and symmet- 
rical completeness. Instead of tilting the lance, 

it turns the shield — the same shield, not some 

22 



33§ HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

deftly manipulated substitute — and seeks no other 
victory than that of first finding out and exhib- 
iting the whole truth. It allows nothing personal 
to receive a moment's thought — nothing what- 
ever but the subject under consideration ; and it is 
all the same whether the opponent be a prince 
or a slave. Had one of the lordly knights been 
merely a plodding peasant, he might have had 
the good sense to say, "Let us take a look at 
the other side, " and thus have settled the mat- 
ter at once. 

So, after all, any subject of honorable con- 
troversy, instead of being a proper issue at arms, 
is only a question of the other side, and of all 
the other sides. 

But it ought to be remarked as one of the 
hopeful signs of the times, that though all the 
other sides occasionally seem to be so many 
specks of war, men are generally, and more than 
ever before, disposed to agree to differ, and thus 
decline the test of the tilt. 



FUTURE RETROSPECTION. 339 



- LIU. 

Future Retrospection. 

COMING now to the close of these brief 
studies of life, with perhaps increased in- 
terest in the true art of living, both the writer 
and his readers may well look forward to the 
final issue, when all who follow the Master here 
shall meet "within the veil. " May none of us 
fail thus to meet again. 

But, then and there, shall we not look back 
over all the past of life on earth? If so, can we 
now imagine such retrospect, or form any idea 
of how this life will then appear? And is it 
possible so to conduct the study and work of 
the living present that the ultimate review shall 
reveal no serious error? 

Future retrospection is certain. The soul 
continues in conscious being after the death of 
the body. In the case of the righteous, to "be 
absent from the body is to be present with the 
Lord." "For we know that if our earthly house 
of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a build- 
ing of God, a house not made with hands, eternal 



340 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

in the heavens." The change of tenement or 
state of existence involves no loss of essential 
mental faculties. 

Memory especially will remain unimpaired. 
Indeed, there is good reason for believing that 
it will be quickened into an intensity of action 
quite unknown in present experience. The ra- 
pidity with which the mind reviews the whole of 
life in the instant of sudden danger, and many 
other extraordinary facts exhibiting the retentive- 
ness of memory, are only intimations of its fu- 
ture capability. 

The rich man, who died and was buried, in 
the conscious suffering of his disembodied state 
distinctly remembered his earthly life, and was 
not without interest in the five brethren left be- 
hind. And when "the dead, small and great, 
shall stand before God" to be judged according 
to their works, the present life will be as an open 
book, and the conscious soul will see it all, and 
never forget the sight. 

The point of observation thus obtained, if it 
were available now, would obviously have great 
advantages. 

Life has many different sides, and is seen here 
only in part and in ever changing aspect. It is 
one thing in youth, quite another in old age, and 
at the intervening points "every thing by turns, 



FUTURE RETROSPECTION. 341 

and nothing long. " Besides the narrow range 
of vision, affording only partial views, there are 
many false lights and optical illusions, produc- 
ing view's which are altogether incorrect and sub- 
versive of every interest of life. A distorted vis- 
ion is necessarily fatal to clearness of perception. 
Thus it happens that fools and philosophers are 
so nearly alike — alike in being all wrong. 

The disadvantages of a merely temporal and 
worldly survey are insurmountable. Life can 
never be understood in its vast relations and 
true significance until it is seen from some point 
above and beyond itself. Such a point will cer- 
tainly be reached when the soul looks back from 
the future state. There false appearances can no 
longer deceive, and all things will stand fully re- 
vealed in the light of eternity. 

But when life is finished, knowledge comes 
too late. Neither the rich man nor Lazarus was 
allowed to return, though both had doubtless ob- 
tained new and corrected views of their former 
state. It was still within sight of memory, but 
forever beyond their reach. So will it be with 
all others. To be of any practical value, the 
real truth concerning human life must be known 
now, and known as clearly as when it shall be 
revealed in future retrospection. 

Is this possible? Can a point of observation 



342 HALF-HOUR STUDIES OF LIFE. 

which lies beyond the irrevocable change be 
made available before that change occurs? 

Happily, the Scriptures solve the difficulty. 
To all the living, Moses and the prophets bear 
messages from the other world. In the Gospel 
a mount of vision is opened, and life is brought 
to light. The Word of God anticipates the dis- 
coveries of disembodied souls, and presents in 
faithful photographs from a future state all the 
great facts of earth and time. Occupying the 
point of view here provided, and supplementing 
the deficiencies of sight by the assurances of faith, 
we may behold this life as it will appear to us 
when we shall have passed beyond. 

The knowledge thus obtained is amply suffi- 
cient for all practical purposes; and, though it 
may be greatly increased in the future, it will 
never need to be corrected. The truth of God's 
Word abides the same in time and eternity, while 
all its revelations are in strictest accordance with 
the real facts. Nothing more can be required to 
put man into right practical relations with all the 
interests of his life here and hereafter. Even the 
equivalent of future retrospection, with the addi- 
tional benefit of present use, is rendered possible 
through the light of divine revelation. 

Is this great practical purpose of the Word 
duly regarded and appreciated? 



FUTURE RETROSPECTION. 343 

Do we receive with equal credit its revelations 
of the future and of the present? For the former 
there is no substitute of present sight, but for 
the latter we have our own eyes and the opin- 
ions of the world. 

The actual ordinary views of life are often 
wholly at variance with the Scriptural, and al- 
ways maintain more or less of competition. 
Which do we accept? Are we accustomed to 
look upon all things here from the mount of 
holy vision and in the clear light of heaven, or 
from the midst of the multitude and through 
the smoke of dimly burning tapers? Are our 
views of this life such as the Scriptures afford, 
or only the false estimate of a blinded world ? 

In the competition between sight and faith, 
and the perpetual conflict of apparent with real 
interests, we are certainly liable to be deceived, 
and to remain deceived until the fearful awaken- 
ing in the world to come. To guard against this 
liability, let every one of us seek the utmost pos- 
sible familiarity with the great practical truths of 
God's Word, and thus endeavor habitually to 
ascertain how every part of this life will appcar 
from the point of future retrospection. 

" Seeing, then, that all these things shall be 
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to 
be in all holy conversation and godliness." 



